Rising Tide
by Camilla.33
Summary: Yanagi is a marine. Plain and simple. Always has been, always will be. But when she meets the Whitebeard pirates under unexpected circumstances and learns secrets she wasn't meant to learn, everything she thought she knew will come into question. Set before the time skip. OC x Ace if you squint maybe but not really.
1. Shipwrecked

Hey guys!  
So it's been literally _forever_ since I wrote anything at all. So I'm going to go ahead and apologize if my writing's a little bit rusty.

As usual, ONE PIECE and it's characters don't belong to me. But my OC does :D

* * *

 **Prologue – Shipwrecked  
** _Yukiryu Island, Grand Line – 12 years ago_

The sun was just beginning to rise over the solitary mountain's peak when the Marine ship pulled into harbor. Marines bundled into their winter uniforms ran across the ship as it docked, occasionally slipping on the ice steadily forming on the deck despite their best efforts. From the shore the locals watched through their windows or from the streets, while a few helpful sailors clambered to the docks to help the enormous ship secure itself. When the ship was secure, the ship's commanding officer disembarked and made his way into town accompanied by a handful of officers.

Tall and lean, the man fit in easily with the town's fair-haired inhabitants, although his weather worn skin gave him away as a sailor used to more temperate climates. The captain's coat he wore slung over his shoulders did little to keep the chill at bay but he showed outward signs of cold. At the town's main plaza, the marines were greeted by who they assumed was the town's mayor; a short man with graying hair and a kind face. As they approached, the man called out to them hospitably.

"Ah, Captain! Thank you for coming, I realize we're a fairly remote island in the grand scheme of things."

The captain shook his head good-naturedly. "Not to worry. We were stationed not too far from here. Now, what seems to be the problem?"

The mayor fidgeted for a moment then, with a forced sort of casualness about him, he motioned for the group of marines to follow him further into town. He spoke carefully but quickly, occasionally glancing up at a shop window or down an alley in a suspiciously nervous fashion.

"I don't know how much of my message was relayed to you, Captain, but about a fortnight ago a ship appeared on the horizon just south of here. It was barely staying afloat it was so badly damaged. So we sent out a couple of small retrieval boats to see if there were any survivors…"

The mayor trailed off as a group of women shuffled past them in the early morning chill, smiling and exchanging greetings as they went. He turned to watch them go, and only when they were out of earshot did he resume his tale.

"Now I wasn't there myself, but the men we sent out swear on their lives there was no one on the ship but one little girl. And now I don't mean no one as in 'everybody was dead' either. She was the only thing on that ship, Captain. No cargo, no supplies, just her."

The captain frowned. "You're positive of this?"

The mayor cleared his throat. "Well as I said, I wasn't there in person. But the men we sent are honest folk."

The group stopped as they arrived at the mayor's residence. The largest building on the street, the stone structure rose four floors up. The steep slant of the wooden roof looming high above the other smaller buildings nearby, and looking as though it was attempting to harpoon the sky. The mayor rested his hand lightly on the doorknob, turning back and looking over the group of marines once more.

"There's one more thing you should know, Captain. Before you see her."

The man in question raised one eyebrow questioningly and crossed his arms over his chest. Rocking back on his heels slightly, he took stock of the street surrounding them. Despite the early morning and sunshine, the area was completely deserted. No children playing in the streets, no mothers doing chores, not even light foot traffic. He turned his attention back to the mayor and motioned for him to continue.

"You need to understand, people here… well, it's hard for them not to get superstitious. They-"

The captain interjected before the man could get any more jumbled. "Mayor. We're not accusing you of anything. We just need to know the facts."

"The facts. Right. Of course."

The man dabbed at his forehead where sweat was collecting despite the below freezing temperatures. He shot one last nervous look over his shoulder at the interior of his domain before steeling himself and slowly confessing.

"They're saying she's a witch."

"Who are?"

"The men who found her, the towns' folk, everyone."

"Is there any particular reason they think that?"

Again, the mayor paused and allowed his eyes to dart nervously around, before sighing and seeming to resign himself.

"The men that went to the ship, they told me when they came back that there was no way that ship should have been afloat at all. Not with the damage it had sustained. And then, as soon as the girl was on dry land, the whole thing just collapsed! Folded in on itself like it was being crushed from the outside."

The captain shifted uncertainly. Mysterious girls appearing on empty ships was one thing, but ships miraculously staying afloat and then collapsing for no apparent reason were an entirely different story altogether.

"Was there anything else, Mr. Mayor?"

The man had already turned and begun fiddling with the latch when something seemed to occur to him.

Mumbling into the doorframe the mayor admitted, "There is… one more thing. I don't know how to explain it, but she knows things. About people. Things she couldn't possibly know."

"Things? Like what?"

Another sigh left the mayor. He seemed to have aged twenty years over the course of their conversation.

"I can't really explain it. Easier for you to just see for yourself."

. . . . .

The mayor's home was warm and cozy, with wooden floors, lightly painted walls, and the kind cute matching furniture that made it evident who did the decorating in the household. Framed pictures of his family lined walls and shelves in all the major rooms and several hallways, yet there was no one in sight when they entered. Above them, nothing stirred on the upper floors. Disturbed by the mayor's previous comments about the child and the unusual stillness of the house, the captain ordered several of his men to stand guard both outside the house and in the foyer, before taking a couple of officers up with him to the top floor.

The rest of the house was much the same as the first floor had been; cozy and welcoming if not for the unnerving stillness. The girl was being kept on the third floor, in a spare bedroom with its own adjoining bathroom and living room. A room normally used exclusively for receiving important guests. Barely a step into the room the captain froze, finding the girl standing a few paces back from the door staring up at him as though she had been expecting him for quite some time. Small, pale, and fragile looking, she watched him out of big doe eyes the color or melted caramel, with her head titled to the side and her unruly blue-green hair spilling over her shoulders.

"Captain Marlow." She greeted quietly. "You're here to take me away aren't you?"

* * *

.

.

.

Constructive feedback is always very much welcome :)


	2. Low Tide

Hello again! So for those of you following this, I'm going to try and grind out a chapter every 1-3 days or so. It's a pretty lenient schedule, all things considered, but I'll keep to it as much as I can!

Once again, I don't own any of the characters except for the ones I've made up :)

* * *

 **Chapter 1 – Low Tide**  
 _Plimey Island, Grand Line – Present day_

Yanagi wandered down the cobbled street of the only major town on the island. She had lost sight of her captain hours ago in the crowd of late morning shoppers. 'Errands' he had called behind him dismissively. Now, roasting in the mid-day heat and nursing a migrane, she climbed yet another hill in search of some sign of him. Down the hill, in the direction of the bay, she could just make out the tips of the masts of ships docked in the port. White flags, black flags, and commercial flags alike flew in the afternoon breeze. As one of the only neutral islands in the New World, Plimey was often host to pirates and marines alike, if not usually all at once, looking to restock somewhere half-civilized.

Despite the uneasy truce, Yanagi eyes scanned the road continuously for trouble. As an ensign, she was allowed a few liberties with her uniform, navy shorts and a plain shirt, but there was little doubt in her mind that the marine jacket tied hastily around her waist painted a blazing target on her back. Yanagi half jogged around a corner, heavy combat boots clunking against the cobblestone, and slammed into a solid wall of muscle. Startled, she took a half step back and peered into the stranger's face. Freckled, suntanned, and framed by wavy dark hair peeking out from beneath a ghastly orange hat, he was watching her with a startled but friendly look. At a second glance, taking in his shirtless torso and log pose she figured he had to be a sailor. Commercial or pirate, but not marine.

"Sorry," she said, stepping out of his way "was in a bit of a hurry."

"No, don't worry about it. Wasn't looking where I was going at all."

She took another step back, brushing blue-green strands of hair from her face, and caught a glimpse of the knife strapped to his thigh. Definitely a pirate. A strangely polite pirate at that. He quirked a brow at her, mouth curving wickedly at a joke only he seemed to hear. Yanagi frowned, unimpressed with his obvious amusement, and veered sharply on her heel to go around the man. She didn't get more than two steps before she was yanked quickly back to the side. Mouth open to tell him off, she whirled around to face him more clearly just as a brawl tumbled out the front doors of the building nearby and into the path she had been about to take.

"You know…" he began, "for a marine, you're kinda clumsy."

She flushed and yanked her arm away. "And for a pirate you're surprisingly chivalrous. If it bothers you so much, next time let me get trampled. I can handle myself just fine thank you."

This only seemed to amuse him more and he watched her with the same subtle smirk as she pressed her sweaty blue hair back from her face.

"Whatever you say." He held up his hands in a semi-mocking gesture of peace, "Best watch your step from now on."

Stepping around her and he marched off down the street. Yanagi followed him with her eyes, turning to keep him in sight and her stomach clenched hard at the insignia etched into his back.

. . . . .

Yanagi searched another couple of hours, heart in her throat and the pirate's mustached Jolly Roger burned into her eyes. Eventually, she found her captain in a small pub. It was an unremarkable place, with wooden tables and booths and a long bar counter that divided the room one to four. Behind the bar the wall was fully stocked with liquor, and the bartender was rushing around tending to the massive group of pirates that had overtaken the bar. Her captain was sat in a booth at the back, dark hair nearly camouflaging him and half obscured by clouds of smoke. Yanagi wondered vaguely at her captain's choice of venue.

"Captain Vergo! I've been looking for you for hours…"

He glanced up as she approached, casually slipping a Den Den Mushi into the interior of his coat and offering her the least apologetic look she had ever seen from behind his ever present sunglasses.

"Yanagi. I told you I had errands."

"Yes. And yet you're here. In a pub."

"A captain can't relax?"

A skeptical moment passed, and the two sat considering each other. Serving under Captain Vergo had been difficult from the start. Trained on the ship of the captain that had found her all those years ago, she had grown accustomed to Captain Marlow. She was used to his half-joking nature, his loose application of the rules, even his nearly comical bad timing. The sudden transfer, and promotion, had left her unbalanced and unsure. And her new captain's erratic behaviour did nothing to help regain her footing. Constantly altering their course, disappearing for hours at port. The man was impossible to decipher, usually he was amiable and approachable but every once in a while, she thought she caught a glimpse of something darker. A few seconds later, Yanagi was snapped harshly from her reverie.

"Where is Zero?"

"I… thought it best he stay on the ship, considering the circumstances."

"And how long ago was it that you left the ship?"

"A few hours, give or take?"

Vergo frowned and pushed himself to his feet. "That was a mistake."

As though on cue, one of the officers that had been on duty when Yanagi left the dock came barrelling through the doors. The bar went silent at his arrival, panting and doubled over. He opened his mouth to blurt out his message just as Vergo caught him by his collar and pushed him back out to the street. Yanagi followed a half second later and caught the tail end of the message.

"-didn't react in time. The others tried to stop him, but he was too far gone."

Vergo shot her a look somewhere between an I-told-you-so and a I-warned-you, before the three marines ran off back in the direction of the pier. In the distance, the sounds of a brawl was carried to them on the breeze.

. . . . .

When they arrived at the harbour, the whole place was in an uproar. The market area and plaza nearby had been completely abandoned, and the destruction began almost before the docks came into view. Shattered crates and scattered supplies littered the docks closest to where the marine's vessel had been tied to port. Further out, the carnage extended to buildings and more than a handful of injured sailor, pirates and marines alike. The group slowed to a stop near the gangplank of their ship and surveyed the damage as a marine with vibrant orange hair ran up to them. The bandana tied around his head was sweat stained and lopsided, half obscuring the eye-patch covering his right eye.

"Sir!" A floppy salute followed. "He's on the far side of the docks. Worked his way through a couple of pirate gangs, although I'm afraid he's spotted a bigger prize."

Vergo frowned, "Bigger prize?"

A nervous chuckle bubbled out of him. "The, uh… W-whitebeard Pirates…sir."

A couple of the men around them paled, and Vergo sighed heavily before pinching the bridge of his nose under his sunglasses. Somewhere down the docks, a crash rattled through the wooden foundation. Almost imperceptibly, Vergo motioned to Yanagi and she nodded quietly before pulling out a fold out staff and jogging off down the docks. She pushed her haki out ahead of her, feeling for other presences and some clue as to what situation she was walking into.

In the town, it was almost unbearable to use her Kenbunshoku haki. Powerful as it was, she was still getting a handle on blocking out large masses of people, and usually ended up with throbbing migraines even without consciously calling on her powers. Even now, with half the town vacated the push of too many presences pulled at her and made her head spin. Distracted as she was, her haki gave her only a millisecond's advantage to dodge the sudden explosion of wood as someone was sent hurtling through a crate in front of her. Through the crater of wood and supplies, Yanagi could see her quarry. Backed against a stone wall, a hulking off-white dog-like creature stood facing off against a man in a strange white get-up and, Yanagi almost physically sighed, ghastly-orange-hat boy.

As she watched, Hat Boy pulled his arm back as though going for a punch and, just before letting his punch fly, set his fist on fire with a shout.

"HIKEN!"

Startled into action, Yanagi threw herself between the fireball and the creature. Pushing as much Busoshoku haki to her staff as she could, she swung it once like a baseball bat, and the fireball split. Left, right, up, down. The flames scattered outward and the force of the shockwave splintered part of the dock and sent the pirates staggering. Through the dispersing flames, she could see more pirates rushing towards them, drawn by the explosion. As the last of the flames evaporated, a snarl alerted her and she spun to the side just as teeth snapped together in the air where her shoulder had been. Annoyed, and vaguely off kilter as the pirate's confusion swamped her mind, she pivoted again and struck out at the beast with a yell.

"ZERO, QUIT IT!"

Contact. The base of the staff caught the canine in the corner of its jaw and sent it stumbling towards the water. The last of the flames still eating away at it, the wooden structure collapsed under its weight and sent the animal into the sea. Almost immediately it sank, disappearing under the waves as a number of marines arrived on the scene as backup. She turned and addressed them indiscriminately.

"Someone get in there and fish him out."

A few mumbled sentences were exchanged before the unlucky chosen one jogged over and dove in after him. The rest stood, warily eyeing the large group of A-list pirates watching the scene with outright confusion. She turned to them, and offered them a half-hearted platitude.

"You'll have to excuse my associate. He's something of a workaholic."

The pirate closest to her, with a tuft of blond hair sitting on his crown and an unbuttoned purple shirt answered her incredulously.

"Workaholic? What kind of half-baked excuse is that, oi? These are neutral grounds."

Yanagi could feel another headache rising. "I'm aware. As is he. Unfortunately, some of us don't seem to have an impulse filter."

This comment she directed toward the water, where the previously chosen marine was now hauling an unconscious boy out of the water. The silvery-white of his hair and the bruise blooming on his jaw the only indication that he and the beast were one and the same. She didn't bother to check if he was okay, instead she watched the pirates carefully.

"Look, judging from what I've seen, he didn't do your crew much damage and he didn't get to any of your supplies. Most of the people injured were marines. And if you're worried about the locals they'll be compensated accordingly."

Their comrade collected, the group of marines turned away to return to their own ship and the carnage down the docks. Yanagi turned to follow behind them, stooping to grab her jacket from off the ground where it fell when she jumped into the fight. A hand caught her elbow as she straightened.

"What about justice, Mrs. Marine? Aren't you supposed to be all about that?"

Yanagi stared down the man holding her arm in a semi-death grip. His white outfit was still pristine and his hair unruffled, and she watched him with apathy and a little disdain. Behind him, several of his comrades were calling out disapprovingly. She yanked her arm free and called back over her shoulder as she walked away.

"A pirate lecturing about justice? What a day this has been."

* * *

.

.

.

So, let me know what you think!


	3. Deep Waters

Hello again! Here's the next chapter for your enjoyment. As I've said before, I don't own One Piece, and feedback is always welcome! :)

* * *

 **Chapter 2 – Deep Waters  
** _Somewhere at Sea, Grand Line – Present Day_

Yanagi leaned against the banister of the ship and watched seagulls wheel over head and disappear on the horizon. After the fiasco in Plimey, the injured locals had been treated and the rest of the population properly compensated for 'destruction of property'. Almost immediately following, their ship had left port and, in a few hours, reached the edge of the island's climate zone. The dull throb of her headache was only just beginning to fade nearly 12 hours later, and she dropped her head down against the railing hoping to relieve some of the tension. A few moments later, she heard the faint thud of boots as someone came and stood beside her.

"So, anyone going to talk about how much of a mess that was?"

She groaned, "Not now Lavi."

He laughed beside her before lowering himself to sit with his back against the railing.

"Not even if I brought you your magic tea?"

Yanagi cheered up instantly and let herself collapse beside him on the deck.

"Sometimes you're a life saver, Lieutenant Junior."

He grimaced at the mocking use of his title and offered her one of the mugs he was holding. She accepted it eagerly, sighing blissfully when the smell of lavender and sage reached her. Her companion enjoyed his own steaming mug. She watched him out of the corner of her eye, surveying the floppy mess of orange hair and his solitary brown eye. He didn't seem to be in any pain, but the bandages peaking out from under his long sleeved navy shirt gave away the damage from yesterday's carnage. She pointed with one hand at them as she sipped her tea.

"I'm sorry about those."

He offered her a shrug diluted with a wince. "Not your fault Zero's an ass."

"He's technically my responsibility though."

Here he raised his one visible eyebrow. "Says who? Captain Marlow? Zero's an ensign, same as you. He needs to learn to control his temper without needing someone to beat him up."

"I guess…"

Good naturedly, he flicked her on the forehead. "Listen, I get you and Zero have known each other a while. And I know you know something about him that you're not telling me. But he's not _your_ responsibility any more than I am."

They lapsed into silence, watching the crew on duty go about their business on deck and occasionally chatting about whatever came to mind. Lavi was a good friend and a capable marine. He had been trained by some of the best and had, for a time, served a stint with the, now Commander, Smoker. They had met a few years earlier on a temporary assignment with Vice-Admiral Garp and had been assigned together on numerous ships since. Goofy and friendly when not on duty, Lavi did a good job of counterbalancing Zero's often ill-tempered presence.

Their respective drinks, finished Lavi pulled her from her thoughts when he stood and offered her a hand up. Once standing she offered him a mock salute and he swatted at her. Both laughing, Yanagi made a move to head off below deck.

"Well if you're done 'debriefing' me, I'd best get back to my duties _Lieutenant Junior_."

He laughed and swatted at her again. "One day you're going to be Lieutenant Junior and I'm going to get to laugh _my_ ass off at _you._ "

"Doubt it!"

She was about to turn away when he called out to her again. "Yana! Actually, there was one more thing I wanted to ask about."

She twisted back around to face him. He looked more serious now, and Yanagi found herself involuntarily nervous. She crossed her arms behind her back to stop any unwanted reactions.

"How come it took you so long to find Captain Vergo?"

She blinked. "I'm sorry, what?"

"Why'd it take so long? Seriously, your haki's strong enough to knock most people flat. I figured it'd take you 10 minutes, not 5 hours. That's kind of why agreed to keep Zero on the docks instead of sending him with you."

He raised his eyebrow at her and she sighed and looked out toward the ocean.

"It's hard to focus in such a massive group of people, you know that."

Another skeptical look. "The marines have been training your haki since they _found_ you."

She winced. "I know. It's just… it's unpredictable. They don't really know how to deal… with me."

Lavi snorted loudly and went to say something when he was cut off by another marine running up from below deck.

"He's awake!"

The pair looked at each other. Yanagi sighed, walking past Lavi and hooking an arm through his elbow to drag him along with her. He made a half-hearted, comical effort to break free in return. Around them, the crew watched their antics chuckling to themselves.

. . . . .

The ship's med-bay was state-of-the-art, equipped with all the best machines and stocked full of medicines at all times. In the wake of a bad battle, the infirmary could take in a little over a couple dozen men. The hospital beds lined each wall, bolted to the ground, and was equipped with a curtain for use when needed. At present, to place was at half capacity, loaded with the unfortunate marines who had attempted to intervene on Plimey, as well as with the cause of all the carnage. Brooding in one of the far corners in a bed near one of the portholes, Zero reclined against his pillows and stared off into the distance outside his window. As the pair approached he glanced their way, silvery-white hair flashing where it caught the sunlight.

"I'm not injured. Why am I being kept in here?"

Yanagi was spared answering. "Because you took on a decent bit of water when Yana knocked you into the ocean. And because, for once, the captain has decided you need to be more aware of the _consequences_ of your temper."

Not one to be chastised, Zero pushed himself up with a snarl.

"Excuse me?!"

" _Zero_."

The bickering fell silent immediately and both men turned to watch Yanagi nervously. She yanked Lavi backwards by his elbow sharply and took his spot staring directly down at Zero.

"Like it or not, Zero, your temper has done a lot of damage. And this isn't the first time."

He opened his mouth to protest and she cut him off. "People were _hurt_ , Zero. Because you got angry at some unimportant pirate walking by or whatever it was this time."

The trio fell silent. Thoroughly told off, Zero sat quietly in his bed looking out at the dozen or so men he had landed in the infirmary. Most suffered only minor injuries and would be released later that day; sprained ankles, broken noses, a fractured wrist. A few of the men however would need to be kept under observation; a major concussion, and a shattered kneecap among them. Before any kind of conversation could resume between the three, the captain marched in and made directly for them.

"Lavi, Yanagi I need you two up on deck helping, there's a squall coming in fast and everything needs to be tied down."

Soundly dismissed the two ran back out to the deck, pausing at the door long enough to watch the captain dip into a rather solemn and private looking conversation with Zero.

. . . . .

Out above deck ominous clouds were already forming over the ship, blocking out the sunlight. The wind was picking up and quickly becoming a problem so the sailor trying to secure the sails. More agile than most, Yanagi made her way quickly to help with the sails while Lavi ran off to secure another part of the deck. Halfway up the mast, Yanagi watched a couple of men lose their grip on the main sail, shrieking when the whole ship tossed as a gust of wind snapped through the sail.

By the time she reached them, the men had managed to wrestle most of the sail back. Rain had started coming down in sheets as she reached the beam they were perched on, and the entire ship had become treacherously slippery. They waved to her that everything was under control and signaled for her to help higher up the mast. With a quick nod she began pulling herself up higher until she reached the beam for the second main sail. Only one other person was there when she pulled herself up, presumably the man who had been on duty in the crow's nest.

With one person on either end of the short beam, the two made quick work of collecting the sail and securing it. Below them, the larger main sail had been secured and the men there descended to help secure things to the deck or cart them inside. A cursory glance around showed the other masts both secured. Satisfied, Yanagi signaled her companion to head down. Barely a blink later she watched, nearly in slow-motion, as the man's hand slipped from the beam and his body began tipping backwards. Immediately, Yanagi threw herself across the space and grabbed hold of the officer's forearms. Dangling awkwardly on either side of the mast, she struggled to make herself heard over the gale around them.

"Listen, when I let go of your arm, grab hold of the rigging, yeah? I'll grab hold of that rope over there, and when you're out of the way I'll swing over and climb down."

Wide-eyed, the man shook his head. Yanagi grinned. "Too late!"

Terrorized into action, the man flung himself towards the mast almost before she released him. Twisting, Yanagi dropped a few feet before grabbing one of the loose ropes nearby, sliding a few more feet before coming to a swinging stop. The man on the mast watched her with alarm until he was certain she was fine, and then began working his way down the mast. When he was clear, Yanagi swung herself toward the mast, one arm outstretched to grab it.

A foot out from the mast, the wind changed directions and sent her spinning into the wood. The arm still holding the rope slammed into the post and, numb from the impact, released its grip. Half a second too late, Yanagi's other arm snapped out to catch her, jarring her to a stop before slipping and sending her tumbling onto the beam of the main sail. She stayed curled over the beam like a poached animal, wheezing as she fought air back into her lungs. Below, Lavi was watching her in terror.

"YANA-!"

His voice was carried away on the wind and, lightheaded she stared at him as the boat began to tilt on a wave. The sudden shift sent him stumbling into the mast, and had her sliding off her perch backwards into open air. Halfway down, the ship righted itself and she found herself tangling into the rigging. Her fall slowed just slightly before she slammed into the deck. The air was chased from her lungs, her back and arms throbbed. Turning onto her side to try and force some air into her, a stray wave washed across the deck and slammed into her back. Salt water rushed up her nose and mouth, something hard struck her hip as she was swept by, and then the ocean was swallowing her whole.

* * *

.

.

.

So what did you think?  
Also, I'm going to go ahead and admit that Lavi's character is pretty strongly borrowed from Man, because I love him to pieces and he deserves to be everywhere :P


	4. Waters of Time

**Hello again! I decided to post two chapters in one night because I had the time, and the inspiration! Hope you enjoy :)**

* * *

 **Chapter 3 – Waters of Time  
** _Marineford, Grand Line – 7 years ago_

 _A twelve-year-old Yanagi wandered the halls of Marineford's lower levels. Her blue hair had been cropped in what she thought was a very professional looking bob, and her slightly too-big marine uniform still made her feel important after a week of wearing it. Even if she was just the errand child. Around her, the base was alive with activity. She could sense something had happened. Something big and important and earth-shaking, at least in her mind. She was tempted to use her haki to find out, people never used to be able to keep stuff from her and she hated it, but remembered how just the other day Vice-Admiral Garp had caught her snooping and had given her a nasty bump for it._

 _Yanagi grimaced at the memory. Down the hall, a door slammed open and another large group of people filed in and headed up to the conference rooms. From the same direction, the small girl made out the sound of a woman crying. Curious, she wandered closer and peered around the corner where she could hear voices talking._

 _There was the woman. Yanagi thought she looked elegant. With her long limbs and waves of silvery-white hair, she looked regal. Even if she was crying. She was talking to one of the older marine officers, and even though she wasn't trying Yanagi could feel how upset she was. The kind of sad that makes you too tired to cry; grown-up sadness. Behind the woman, a small boy stood half hidden in her skirts, clinging to her hand. He shared his mother's elegant look and silvery hair, but his eyes were clear, not red-rimmed like the woman. Deep blue and clear. The two children locked eyes from down the hall, and the boy stiffened and pulled once on his mother's hand._

 _The woman glanced down at her son confused, while the marine turned to catch what the boy had been looking at. Suddenly afraid of being yelled at, Yanagi ducked back around the corner but knew at once she hadn't been quick enough._

 _"_ _Yanagi? That you?"_

 _Sheepishly she wandered back around the corner, head down and expecting to be yelled at. Instead, the marine seemed to think it was a good thing._

 _"_ _Perfect timing." He crouched down to her level, and spoke as though entrusting her with secrets._

 _"_ _Now listen Yana, this is_ real _important. I can't trust anyone else with this but you. Now this boy here is Zero, I've got to take his mum here up to talk with the big guys but he needs a little something to eat in the meantime, and someone_ very _responsible to watch him. Do you think you can handle that?"_

 _Yanagi, ego thoroughly inflated, nodded quickly and turned to the boy who was now eyeing her like a wild animal. Trying to look solemn and responsible, Yanagi marched over to him and offered him her hand. In her best adult voice, she addressed her new 'ward'._

 _"_ _Hello Zero. I'm Yanagi."_

 _He didn't look impressed. "I know. I heard him say it."_

 _Trying hard not to be put off, Yanagi didn't budge._

 _"_ _You must be hungry, I'll show you the cafeteria."_

 _"_ _Not really."_

 _Now his mother stepped in quietly admonishing him. Yanagi watched, impressed at how this woman could be so intimidating without raising her voice, are smacking him over the head. In the end Zero allowed himself to be led away, glancing occasionally over his shoulder to watch his mother disappear down the other end of the hall. As the two children walked towards the cafeteria, Yanagi tried again to talk to him._

 _"_ _So, how old are you?"_

 _"_ _Twelve."_

 _"_ _Oh, so am I! Where are you from?"_

 _"_ _St. Poplar."_

 _"_ _I know where that is! Gosh that's a long way… How come you're here?"_

 _Here, Zero refused to answer and Yanagi frowned, puffing her cheeks out in annoyance. At this point, the two were already in the cafeteria. It was completely deserted at this time of day, except for the kitchen staff who were busy prepping the food for the next meal. They gave Zero a decent sized meal after Yanagi explained her 'very important asignment' to them, and the two children situated themselves at one of the empty tables._

 _She considered her options, which were limited. She could keep asking him questions, but he didn't seem much inclined to talking. She could just be quiet, but she hadn't really ever had the chance to talk to another twelve-year-old, and she thought it a shame not to now. In the end, she decided just to keep talking to him, and hope for the best._

 _"_ _Your mom seemed really cool. I want to be like that. All pretty and elegant, but people would still take me seriously, you know?"_

 _Zero snorted. "You'll never be as pretty as Mam."_

 _Not to be deterred, Yanagi kept talking. "I used to imagine my mum was something like that. I mean, she'd look like me, not like your mum. But she'd be strong and respected, and kind… I don't remember my mum… Or my dad."_

 _Zero stared at her surprised for a moment and, suddenly embarrassed, Yanagi fell silent. She played with a frayed string on one of her sleeves and glared at her toes. Slowly, Zero put his fork down. He still hadn't stopped watching her, and Yanagi thought for sure he was going to laugh at her._

 _"_ _My dad died yesterday."_

 _Yanagi's head shot up. Zero was watching her calmly, his face still clear but he had the grown-up sadness in his eyes and the set of his mouth. Unsure of what to say, Yanagi reached out and held his hand in hers. He was paler than her, and his hands were softer, but in the light of the cafeteria she thought they didn't really seem all that different. In the silence of the near empty cafeteria, the boy dissolved into tears and held her hand like a lifeline._

 _. . . . ._

 _Kenzan Island, Grand Line – 3 years ago_

 _Yanagi watched Zero storm away down the gangplank and off toward the island. He was angry again, but then, he was always angry. Angry at everyone, angry at everything. Angry at himself for stupidly eating a Devil Fruit, angry at the water for making him weak, angry at pirates for killing his father, angry at his mother for running away from life. Yanagi shut her eyes and counted to ten. She was about to step off the plank and go after him, when a hand landed heavily on her shoulder._

 _"_ _Best leave him alone. Anger like that is explosive."_

 _Startled, Yanagi whirled around and found herself face to face with the ship's new ensign. He was holding his hands up in surrender, flamboyantly orange hair flopping all over his face, chocolatey brown eyes swimming with mirth, and a bandana hanging at his neck._

 _"_ _Ensign Lavi."_

 _He snorted. "Please, just Lavi. Ensign sounds ridiculous. Only thing_ more _ridiculous is Lieutenant Junior. Junior!"_

 _She blinked twice, confused. She'd met a few marines like him, goofy and amiable, but they were usually old men with enough history that they didn't have anything to prove. She opened her mouth, unsure of what she was planning on saying. He seemed curious as well, watching her with an open expression of curiosity. The words she ended up choosing would baffle her for the rest of her life._

 _Pointing to the bandana, she murmured, "You know that's meant to be worn on your head, right?"_

 _They stared dumbstruck at each other for a moment, before Lavi burst out laughing. The loud, hysterical kind of guffawing that was instantly contagious. Yanagi found herself fighting down her own giggles. Eventually, he calmed down and addressed her again._

 _"_ _I never quite caught your name, I'm afraid."_

 _"_ _Yanagi."_

 _"_ _Yanagi…?"_

 _"_ _Just Yanagi. No last name."_

 _He furrowed his brows. "How come?"_

 _"_ _No one to inherit a name from."_

 _He winced, "I'm sorry, that was an insensitive question."_

 _Yanagi shrugged, "Can't miss what you never had. Besides, I got all this in return." She gestured out to the other navy ships docked nearby, "Not a bad trade in my opinion."_

 _Lavi frowned at her as she watched the crew around her wistfully. Vaguely, he thought she looked awfully lonely for someone who didn't miss what she'd never had. Instead of pushing his luck, he took a cursory glance around the dock. Zero had disappeared around the edge of the dock several minutes ago and showed no signs of returning. His companion seemed to follow the same line of thought as she motioned vaguely toward the plank._

 _"_ _I should go find him. He gets in trouble easily."_

 _"_ _I'll go with you. Trouble means backup, right?"_

 _She seemed unsure at first, but ended up smiling and nodded for him to come along all the same. They walked through the village together, eyeing the architecture appreciatively. Eventually, however, the two became aware of the empty streets around them. Several streets away, a cloud of dust rose up above the roofline with a resounding crash. Yanagi shot her companion a nervous look, before whipping a staff out of her belt and running off down the street toward the commotion._

 _What they found was a rather large mob of people, some injured and lying around the street while others stood brandishing weapons. At the center of the mob was a crater, and out of the dust emerged an enormous dog-like creature, snarling and bearing its fangs angrily. Lavi staggered to a stop._

 _"_ _What the_ hell _is that?!"_

 _Yanagi sighed. "_ That _, is Zero. Stupid bugger at a Devil Fruit. Turns him into some kind of dog. Apparently they're indigenous to Drum Island."_

 _Lavi stared at her with his mouth hanging open. Unsure what else to do she simply shrugged._

 _"_ _Listen… Zero's kind of got a temper. Doesn't really have control of this form yet, so I'm gonna have to beat him into submission if you know what I mean."_

 _This shook Lavi from his stupor. He looked again at the giant dog surrounded by angry civilians. Its haunches were built lower to the ground than its shoulder, but at its shoulders it was almost as tall as she was. Shaggy white fur, speckled with grey around its long pointed face, gave the illusion of a much cuddlier animal, but the 2 inch claws and long serrated teeth shattered that illusion. Lavi shot another look at the small girl beside him._

 _"_ _You're sure?"_

 _She blinked, "Yeah, I've done this more than I'd like to admit. Could you maybe work on getting the civilians away though?"_

 _Almost dumbly, Lavi nodded. She offered him a reassuring smile before running off towards the beast. Weaving her way through the crowd of angry but wary townsfolk, she worked her way quickly to the front of the mob. Zero's dog-form swivelled its head around to stare at her. For a moment, the complete stillness almost convinced her he recognized her, but the next second he was leaping at her with his jaws open._

 _No time to dodge, her staff came up and jammed horizontally into his mouth, forcing his jaw to stay open. Behind her, she could hear Lavi ushering the civilians away. The weight of the thing pressed in on her and she took a step back to reset her footing, before pushing forward as hard as she could and throwing him sideways. Undeterred he came back at her. The civilians were clear now, and Lavi watched nervously from a few feet away. Unfocused, Yanagi's staff slipped and she found herself pinned beneath the dog, teeth snapping around her staff and hind claws ripping at her flesh where he stood on her stomach. Adrenaline hammered through her veins. Vaguely she heard Lavi screaming in the background, and the next second the monster was gone._

 _Yanagi lay dazed on the ground for a few moments, before the sounds of snarling and screaming came back to her. A few paces away, Lavi was fighting off the dog practically unarmed. Blood was pouring down the right side of his face, she couldn't tell from where. Too much blood. Red hot anger pulsed through her veins and the world around her turned red. And then, nothing._

* * *

 _._

 _._

 _._

Again, let me know what you all think :) I really appreciate feedback!


	5. Washed Ashore

Hello again! The next chapter is here, as promised! Let me know what you think :)

* * *

 **Chapter 4 – Washed Ashore**  
 _Foodvalten, Grand Line – Present day_

Yanagi woke to sunlight slanting across her face from an open window. She blinked the last of her memories away, wondering why she had dreamt of those things, and surveyed the room she was in. It was wooden and well maintained, despite the handful of floorboards she could see jutting out at odd angles. Littered around the room were various toys, mostly figurines of soldiers, and pictures of famous pirates, presumably cut out from wanted posters, hung randomly on the walls. Through the window beside the bed, Yanagi could make out tropical forests on the edge of a yard strung with a clothesline and riddled with more children's toys.

Somewhere in the house a door slammed. All at once, the house was filled with the sound of footsteps and the low hum of conversation. Reaching out tentatively with her haki, she counted six presences; a young boy and his mother, and four others, guarded and indistinguishable. Behind her eyes an image of the sea outlining the figure of a man, his grin the only distinguishable feature, flashed painfully bright. She recoiled physically, head snapping back against the wall behind her. She groaned, rubbing the back of her head as the group of strangers heard her and rushed over.

The door creaked open and a woman's head peaked in, maroon hair spilling over her shoulder in a sleek curtain. She had one pale hand on the door and the other on the doorframe. One leg poked in through the gap, draped in a long skirt and rumpling where someone small was attempting to get around her. When she saw Yanagi awake, she smiled before sighing and back enough to let her son clamber into the room with a loud yell.

"Outta the waaaaay! I found her so _I'm_ taking care of her!"

The boy looked, maybe 8 years old, barefoot and dressed only in a pair of shorts and a wrinkled tank top. He shared his mother's complexion, but the mop of wild hair he sported was a dull chestnut. He took another few moments too attempt to stare threateningly at the adults before swivelling around to march over to the bed. His bravado faded almost immediately, however, when he noticed her sitting up and watching him. He seemed to shrink for a moment, glancing back nervously at his mother for help. She smirk and motioned him toward her with a laughed and a wicked smirk.

"You _are_ the one taking care of her, aren't you?"

Obviously not one to be taunted, the boy snorted and marched right up to her. Yanagi smiled at him as he came to stand beside her, and he relaxed. Poking at one of the bandages she hadn't noticed wrapped around, he questioned her in a small voice.

"Does anything hurt?"

Yanagi was quick to supress a laugh, because obviously after falling from the main mast of a ship and nearly drowning _everything_ hurt but he didn't need to know that.

Instead she said, "I'm feeling much better now. Thank you for saving me."

Obviously it was the right thing, as the boy immediately puffed up again, and start the retelling of his bravery discovering her on the coast. Out of the corner of her eye, Yanagi could see his mother smiling in her direction. She stepped further into the room, cutting her son's monologue off with practiced expertise.

"Honey, why don't we find out what happened to her before we start telling her your adventure?"

The boy pouted, but conceded. From the doorway, another voice interjected.

"Those _are_ some pretty nasty bruises."

Packed into the doorway, the other four presences she had felt were all standing, peering in at her. The two at the back were vaguely familiar to her, beyond the fact there their faces were glued to the wall somewhere to her right. One dark skinned and dark haired, his mustache flaring out ridiculously; and the other fair skinned, with a near-comical pompadour and an impractical white get-up. Their epithets swam at the back of her mind, but she was too distracted by the two in front to focus. On one side of the doorframe was Whitebeard's second in command and commander of the first division, tuft of blond hair and all. On the other side was the man she was beginning to recognize as the commander of the second division, his god-awful hat was missing now, but his face still burned fresh in her mind from Plimey. Not that she would give him the satisfaction of recognition.

"You-You're ridiculous hat dude!"

His companions guffawed loudly as, the man in question began yelling obscenities at her. The mother, sensing that the situation would only get worse before it got better, stepped in to pull her son from the crossfire.

"Aidan, why don't we go get her something to eat and some more comfortable clothes to change into."

Skeptical, he turned to his 'ward'. Things were interesting and he didn't really want to leave, so he hoped the lady would say he could stay. Yanagi, however, smiled first at his mother then at him before addressing him in a conspiratorial tone.

"Don't tell your friends over there, but I really am quite hungry. And a warm drink would do me some _real_ good."

Feeling important, the boy lurched to his feet and gave her a sloppy salute. He latched onto his mother, herding her impatiently towards the door, where he turned back and saluted again. Yanagi waved back at him with a smile, and the next second he had swept his mother off into the house. The four pirates in the doorway watched her considering. In the end, it was Marco who broke the silence.

"So you can be polite, oi."

Yanagi glared. "Obviously."

Behind him, the pompadour bobbed side to side. Now the shock had faded away she remembered the other two's name. Thatch and Vista, commanders of the fourth and fifth divisions respectively.

"Could have fooled us."

She frowned at them. "Because you pirates are the most cordial of men. Hat boy nearly blew up the whole dock on Plimey. Where even am I, for that matter?"

"Foodvalten. One of our crew's islands."

It was Marco who had answered. Voice flat, eyes half-lidded, and arms crossed over his chest, he gave nothing away as to his thoughts on the matter. Yanagi's eyes flickered over the other three. Vista was smirking, while Thatch watched her with vague interest. Ace looked as though he was still fuming over the hat comment. Unable to read much from them, she came to her own conclusion.

"So you're what? My execution squad? Bit much to send four commanders in'it?"

Ace frowned. "You know for someone who knows who we are, you could stand to be a little less rude about everything."

Yanagi shrugged. "It's a marine's job to hate pirates."

Marco titled his head, considering her. He eyed her like she'd given away some important piece of information, and a jolt of nervousness shot through her. The only truly calm one of the three, he unnerved her the most.

"Hate pirates, sure. But even Sengoku will admit respect to some of us."

"Well maybe it's not in me to have respect for lawbreakers." She snapped back.

Another frown. "You can't possibly be that simple."

Yanagi was about to snap at him again when Aidan came tumbling back into the room with an armful of clothes. Oblivious to the atmosphere of the room, he marched right up to Yanagi and dumped the clothes in her lap with triumph. An airy, navy skirt long enough to reach her ankles and a slit up one side unfolded into her lap along with dark purple long-sleeved blouse.

"Mama says those should fit you. And we'll mend your clothes too, once you've changed."

Yanagi smiled at the boy and thanked him warmly. When he didn't immediately leave the room, she thought of something to send him back out to his mother.

"Why don't you go and help your mother with the food? I'm sure with your help it'll get done in no time."

His head swivelled as he took in the occupants of the room, and he made a face like he was unconvinced.

"Mama's good at cooking she doesn't need my help."

Yanagi pressed on, hoping to strike on something that would convince him to leave.

"Tell you what, why don't you go convince her to put something sweet in for dessert? You know, to cheer me up. And I'll let you have some of it."

She saw his eyes come back to look at her skeptically. A good bribe, but not enough to entice him fully. Or was there something else that made him skeptical.

"Mama doesn't let me eat sweets in the morning."

"Well then, I guess we'll just have to keep this to ourselves then won't we?"

Nearly there. "You promise you'll share?"

Placatingly she held her hand up as though swearing a vow. "I promise. After all, you're the hero that saved my life."

Bribe accepted and ego thoroughly stroked, Aidan shot back out the door on his mission. She felt a little bad for breaking his mother's rules, but decided she probably wouldn't mind considering where her conversation with the pirates was likely to go. They had watched the scene silently, and when she glanced back their way it was evident they were all at least a little impressed with how she had handled the boy. They all stood in silence for a moment before she pushed herself out of the bed.

"So if you're not my executioners, what then? Gonna throw me back into the ocean?"

"Well, I mean" Marco began, "That sounds an awful lot like executing you to me."

Yanagi rolled her eyes. "So then what? Came all this way for nothing?"

Beside Marco, Ace snorted. "Actually, we're not even here for you. But you were the talk of the town when we got here, so we thought we'd take a look."

"Really. Why are you here then?"

For the first time in the whole conversation, Vista stepped in. "Got wind of a rumour that some rookies were coming this way for some trouble. Thought we'd nip it in the bud, so to speak."

"What? You mean you send a convoy every time you hear a rumour about rookies coming to your islands?"

Thatch flounced forward proudly. "We don't really expect you to get it, but-"

Marco caught him off. "It's more the politics of it all. If we don't react, others start taking it into their heads that they can take our other islands. See where I'm going with this?"

Yanagi still looked skeptical, but Marco continued as though he wasn't really expecting an answer either way.

"Anyway, I don't see any harm in letting you stay. Aidan can be a handful, 'specially if you make him angry."

The others around him gave nothing away if they thought the decision was foolish. Yanagi supposed it made sense, considering Marco's rank. Still, she hadn't expected pirates to be that reasonable about anything. Marco inclined his head as a goodbye, and the four left her to change in peace. Ace, the last to leave, shot her one last unsure look before shutting the door behind him. She waited until their footsteps faded down the hall before slumping onto the bed.

. . . . .

Elsewhere in the house, the pirates stepped into the kitchen to say their farewells for the day. Aidan was sat on a chair at the diner table, swinging his legs beneath him and chatting his mother's ears off. His mother, Ayana, was busy at the stove finishing up their guest's meal. She turned to them as she finished plating the meal, offering the tray to her son distractedly. When he was gone she turned to them with a tired look, wiping her hands on a nearby towel.

"I take it she's staying then?"

Marco shrugged. "Don't see why not."

Behind him, Marco registers Ace shifting his weight at the comment. The first division commander knows he's unhappy with the decision, but decides he'll address it later. From his side, Marco produces a small pouch filled with herbs picked up on their travels. Ayana smiles as she takes them from him.

"You know, you don't owe me anything."

Marco winces, but Thatch jumps in. "We owe your husband everything. This doesn't even begin to cover it."

Ayana smiles placatingly at them, and goes to store the little satchel in a cupboard.

"I take it you've got other places to be today?"

They nod all together, before Marco speaks. "We'll be around for a little while yet. What with the trouble coming this way."

Ayana nods. "Well, you take care of yourselves. You're always welcome here."

Thatch chuckles and Vista snorts. "Somehow, I doubt your guest will approve."

Now the woman snorts, crossing her arms over her ribs. "She doesn't really get a say, I'm afraid."

With a collecting laugh they dismissed themselves. Ayana repeated her invitation with more conviction as they strode out of the kitchen to the front door. From the back of the house, Aidan's voice drifted to them through the open door of the bedroom. He was regaling her with the story of his brave rescue, and the pirates laughed as they realized there seemed to be more sharks every time he told the story. With that, they exited the house and wandered back down to the beach.

The house was barely ten steps out of view when Ace finally let them have it. Marco, who had been expecting the outburst, sighed while his other companions grimaced and shook their heads at the younger commander.

"How is this a good idea?"

Marco rolled his eyes. "She's hardly a threat, oi. Probably got caught in that massive squall south of Plimey and got washed off deck the way _you_ nearly did."

Ace flushed with embarrassment. "Still though… she's so horrible."

"People are rarely as simple as they let on. Especially those who try so hard to appear simple. You should know that better than anyone, oi."

Ace winced, the memory of his own experience joining the Whitebeard Pirates still a bad spot he was determined to atone for. Not that anyone else on the crew thought he needed to, but the man's hard-headedness would hardly let him acknowledge that. Instead, he tried a different angle.

"And what if she tries something?"

Marco shrugged and Thatch jumped in cheerily as though talking about the weather.

"If she tries something, then she'll be dealt with the way we always deal with marines. End of story."

* * *

.

.

.

So, good? Bad? Let me know!


	6. Erosion

Hello again! Here's the next chapter! It's a little bit longer than the last ones (not by much, but hey I tried). As always, let me know what you think!

* * *

 **Chapter 5 – Erosion**  
 _Foodvalten, Grand Line – Present day_

After eating, Yanagi wandered from her room to the kitchen. Aidan trailed along beside her. He had insisted he needed to carry the dishes because she was his patient, so they walked along together with the tray of dishes dangling between them. The kitchen of the old house was, truthfully, just the communal room of the house, sectioned off by furniture into both kitchen and living room. It wasn't a large house by any means, but Yanagi found herself more comfortable here than anywhere she had visited in her life. The atmosphere was warm, and welcoming in a way she hadn't had the fortune of encountering as a navy brat. While the boy, still chattering away beside her, was quickly growing on her.

The boy's mother was reclining on the couch, one arm draped over her eyes and the other hanging limply. She looked exhausted and, not for the first time, Yanagi wondered exactly how long they had been taking care of her. Still the woman made an effort to revitalize herself when Yanagi appeared with her son, pushing up onto her elbows and peering at them over the back of the couch. Jealously, Yanagi wondered how she could still look so regal with her hair flumped up on one side and the couch's pattern etched into the side of her face, but she squashed the thought quickly.

"Don't worry about the dishes, I'm sure me and Aidan can manage washing them. Can't we Aidan?"

The boy in question stopped mid tirade and pouted cutely, obviously not enjoying the amount of work 'being responsible' entailed for him, though he ended up nodding along all the same. His mother laughed from the couch.

"Well, thank you for that. I'm Ayana, by the way, I never quite got around to introducing myself." And then, to her son, "I'll take you down to the beach later as a thank you for the dishes and for taking such good care of our guest."

Beaming now, the boy ran off to drag a kitchen stool over to the sink. Turning the sink on full blast, and lathering up a sponge with soap the boy turned to his job with slippery hands. Suddenly worried for the dishes, Yanagi hurried over and nudged him over with her hip until he was standing in front of the drying rack.

"Why don't I do the washing and you can do the drying since I don't know where anything goes?"

Chores agreed upon, the two set about getting the cleaning done. Yanagi was surprised to find he was actually very nimble with his fingers, despite how short and stubby they seemed to her. Still, she out-paced him easily and soon there was a pile in the drying rack waiting for his attention as he went through the motions of first drying and then returning the dishes to their rightful spots. Her own task completed, Yanagi leaned back against the counter nearby and turned at the hip to talk with Ayana.

"I can take him down to the beach for you if you want. I realize I'm a stranger, but you look tired. It can't have been easy taking care of me for however long I was out."

Ayane smiled. "It was no problem really. Aidan did a lot of the watching after your injuries were treated. I'd hate to ask so much of you when you're recovering."

"Oh, don't worry about that. I recover better when I do things. Really, take the afternoon off. I promise I'm not some sketchy kid-snatcher."

They both laughed. "Well, if you're sure."

"Of course! It's the least I can do."

Ayana smiled at her, and they both turned to watch Aidan finish off the last of the dishes. It didn't take long, and soon the young boy was bouncing around excitedly. A quick reminder from his mother that he needed shoes and he was off like a shot down the hall, reappearing seconds later dragging sandals onto his feet mid-step and nearly colliding with a lamp. Ayana informed her that she could borrow any of the sandals by the front door that fit her, and she pulled them on as quickly as she could with Aidan buzzing around her like a hyperactive fly.

Belatedly, Yanagi wondered what she had gotten herself into.

. . . . .

The beach, Yanagi discovered, was on the other side of the village. Aidan, feeling knowledgeable and important, informed her that almost all the way around, the island was sheer cliff with the exception of the one sloped entrance to the south of the village. Which meant the pair had to go parading through the village heart before reaching their destination. Not a particularly daunting task, but Yanagi was feeling like enough of a street show parading around half wrapped in bandages, without the added discomfort of a skirt and blouse.

She had rolled the sleeves up to her forearms and tucked the ends of the shirt into the skirt but it did little to hide the comical effect of the clothes. Ayana, though not a particularly large woman by any means, had more curves to her than Yanagi did after spending a lifetime in the marines, and the clothes ended up just a bit too airy for her taste. What's more, Aidan seemed intent on talking to as many people as he could manage, obviously wanting to advertise his 'act of heroism' to the town. By the seventh person, Yanagi decided she needed a way to streamline the process.

"Ne, Aidan, if we don't hurry you're not going to have a whole lot of time at the beach you know."

She, and the villager Aidan had previously been regaling with his tale, watched in amusement as the boy set off down the street with a vengeance. Laughing, Yanagi bid the man good day and jogged off after her young ward. She slowed to a walk when he came back into sight ahead of her still powering towards the beach but, like every 8-year-old in history, his attention would drift to a shop window or some other small thing every few paces. He would shake himself, physically, and force himself to keep walking, but eventually he caved and stopped in front of a small bakery staring up at the display of a cake. She stopped beside him and glanced down at him with an amused smile. Beside her the door jingled open and someone walked out.

"What happened to the no sugar rule?"

Aidan pouted and declared haughtily, "Mama says no sweets _in the morning_. It's almost 3 whole hours past noon."

Yanagi raised a brow, "Indeed it is. Which means your beach time is dwindling by the second."

Aidan's eyes went comically wide and he jumped away from the glass like it had burned him, before setting off again like he was on a mission. Yanagi followed at a more leisurely pace, keeping the boy within sight as he darted ahead. Seconds later, the person from the bakery fell into step beside her. She glanced up and almost physically recoiled when she came face to face with Whitebeard's fourth division commander. He smiled cheerily, like nothing was wrong and waved an arm laden with sweets toward Aidan.

"You handle him well."

Yanagi pressed her lips together firmly, fighting a frown and ending up with an odd sort of grimace. Thatch watched her face with amusement before digging in his bag and producing something that looked suspiciously like a miniature cake.

"Come on, don't be like that! We're all going to be on this island for a while, why not be friends?"

She glared at him like he was stupid, wiping the look off her face long enough to offer Aidan a tense smile when he came begging for a bite, before staring straight ahead when he zipped off again. Thatch considered her for a moment long as he chewed.

"You know, he's going down to the beach to hang out with us, right?"

Yanagi visibly slumped in defeat. "Of _course_ he is…"

Thatch grinned. "Come on! We're not all _that_ bad!"

She gave him a look like he had grown another head and six arms to go with it. Thatch, obviously catching on to how little she was going to compromise in this situation, dropped him smile as he turned to also watch the child running ahead of them. They were coming up to the slope that led down to the beach and his head was periodically bobbing in and out of view as he ventured farther down.

"Listen, Mrs. Marine," he leveled her a serious look, "we're all very fond of the kid. And we'd hate to upset him."

She cocked her head, wondering where he was going with this.

"…And I can see from how you handle him that he's growing on you pretty quickly too. So, if for _no other reason_ than that happy kid over there, _try_ to be civil."

She watched him, surprised and astonished by the protectiveness she could hear in his voice and see in his eyes. The thought crossed her mind that maybe being the boy's new project had been the only thing keeping her alive at all. She sighed, watching him reach the beach and immediately sit down to pull his sandals off. He offered them to her with a grin that split his face when she reached him and she took them without complaint. Freed of his burden, he immediately ran off down the beach towards the small encampment the pirates had set up in the shade of the overhanging trees.

She sighed heavily. "Yanagi."

Thatch blinked twice like he was caught of guard. "What?"

She resisted the impulse to roll her eyes. "Yanagi. My name is Yanagi. Enough with the Mrs. Marine shtick, it makes me sound like some 50-year-old woman."

The pirate stared at her openly surprised. "Ha! So, the Ice Queen isn't a robot after all!"

"What the hell kind of mixed analogy was that…"

He waved her off with a breezy swat of his hands as he overtook her heading towards his comrades. Yanagi watched him go for a second, feeling her eyebrow begin to twitch. She took a deep breath, in through her nose and out through her mouth, calling to mind the image of the grinning boy that was the only reason she was here and alive at all. Reminding herself to do it for him, she set off down the beach towards the pirates and. For the second time that day, she wondered what she had gotten herself into.

. . . . .

By the time she reached the make-shift camp, Yanagi's nerves and patience were beginning to slip. Aidan was rolling around in an empty patch of sand, play fighting with a nameless crew member Yanagi had never seen or heard of. The man was built like a wall, bronze skin stretched over impossibly wide shoulders, and had his head shaved bald. Like the rest of his crewmates, his captain's Jolly Roger was etched into his skin, and he opted to tear the sleeves off his shirt to ensure it remained in full view. Around them, a group of a dozen or so nameless crewmates were gathered and cheering, unsurprisingly, for Aidan.

The rest of the camp was nearly deserted. A few crates of supplies, and a handful of barrels of what could only be alcohol had been unloaded onto the beach and piled at the back of the camp. Logs had been collected and installed around a handful of fire pits, of which only two were currently burning. She spotted Thatch sitting at the pit closest to the 'brawl' chatting happily with Marco. Deciding her best bet for _not_ getting murdered was probably to sit with the only people present who could vouch for her, Yanagi wandered over to the fire pit as well. The two commanders looked up as she approached, and Thatch made a point of greeting her like an old friend.

"Ah, there you are! Marco, this is Yanagi. The 50-year-old ice queen."

Marco looked at Thatch like he wasn't sure whether to ask about his mental health or throw him in the ocean, and Yanagi actually face palmed as she lowered herself onto a log across the fire from them.

"Jeez… Go back to calling me Mrs. Marine. At least then you sounded sane."

Marco blinked at her slowly, considering her sudden, if not entirely complete, about-face in regard to dealing with pirates. He shot Thatch an accusing look, but the man was having none of it. When the first commander turned his eyes back to her, Yanagi had to repress the urge to squirm.

"Nice of you to join us, oi. To what do we owe the pleasure?"

If there was any kind of malice or threat in his words, Yanagi missed them entirely. Like Thatch, Marco was exceedingly good at pretending she wasn't a marine, though he went about it quite differently. She considered the possibility that they didn't consider her a threat at all, but banished the thought quickly. People like these didn't get by in the New World looking down their noses at marines. Realizing she was expected to answer, Yanagi shrugged.

"Ayana baited him with beach time to do dishes." Yanagi gestured back at the pirate's fake-brawling to her right. "And I offered to take him for her as a thank you for not letting me drown."

The two pirates seemed unsurprised by her answer. Thatch, who had taken an enormous bite of pastry not ten seconds before suddenly seemed curious.

"Fyou'wre not goinmg to wask 'bout fwhere th'others awre?"

Marco glared at him, presumably for attempting to speak around his monstrous mouthful, and smacked him upside the head.

"Don't talk with you mouth full, oi."

Yanagi blinked, nearly laughing, but collected herself.

"I assumed they were all back on the ship over there," she motioned out to the waved where a whale-shaped boat sat among fat sluggish waves, "since there aren't any landing ships out this way."

Thatch looked impressed, while Marco looked worried. She waved him off, resigned to this new semi-casual way of interacting with them.

"Don't worry. Even if I could figure out weaknesses and an attack plan, my injuries wouldn't really allow for me to put any of them into play. 'Sides, it's like you said earlier, Aidan's a handful but I quite like him."

Marco nodded. "Speaking of injuries, how are yours? Didn't get a chance to ask before when you were being all prickly."

She snorted. "Could be a lot worse, all things considered. Nothing life threatening, but there's a couple that won't heal for a good while. Don't you worry about that."

Thatch looked offended. "Why are we always the bad guys with you? What if we're genuinely concerned?"

Yanagi regarded him with blank eyes and an are-you-serious look that put Marco to shame. The other commander didn't quite mirror the marine's expression, but he was looking at that like he was watching a bad actor. Thatch deflated.

"Okay, fine."

From there the conversation shifted to mundane things. The newest gossip in town, the rising prices on everything both here and elsewhere, and, eventually, the weather. From there the conversation turned to the squall that had struck up south of Plimey and sent several ships to the bottom of the sea. Thatch took the opportunity to relate the story of how they had handled the storm, throwing in ridiculous details here and there that Marco immediately shot down with a straight face. From there, they eventually wheedled out the story of how _she_ came to be on the island, which she told quickly and with as few details as possible. Inevitably, there were questions about some things, and Yanagi found her story running long. When she finished her, relatively short, story Yanagi noticed a number of pirates had joined their little circle around the fire. Most were watching her with surprise, and Marco was the first to break the silence.

"I'm surprised that didn't break your back, oi."

Beside him, Thatch was looking impressed. " _I'm_ more surprised she managed to catch that crewmate of hers."

From somewhere at the back of the crowd of pirates someone guffawed and called out a "Not everyone's as clumsy as you Thatch!", which was followed by raucous laughter and a string of empty threats from Thatch. Then, other crewmates began joining in one by one.

"Maybe we should take a leaf out of her book and scare you into doing what you're told!"

"Ha! You mean the way he terrorizes the ladies at port?"

The jeers continued and Yanagi found herself smiling quietly despite herself. Drawn by the noise and crowd, Aidan wormed himself to the fire pit and collapsed on the log beside her, stretching out so his whole body lay on the log with his head in her lap. He squirmed a little until he was comfortable, then turned and looked up at her. His grin was eclipsed by a yawn and Yanagi was suddenly aware of the sun dipping closer and closer to the horizon. She stroked the hair back from his forehead with gentle fingers. Around them, the pirates were only getting louder, but he drifted off quickly either way. When she looked up, Marco was watching her like a hawk from across the fire.

. . . . .

Marco and Yanagi walked in silence back to Alana's house, Aidan drapped across Marco's back, snoring like a wild thing. In the end, Yanagi hadn't had the heart to wake the sleeping boy, and had attempted to carry him back herself before her injuries protested. Marco stepped in almost immediately, more out of concern for the boy should he be dropped than the marine woman. He couldn't wrap his head around her. Prickly as she had been when they met, he had expected her to put up more resistance against the, now almost companionably, way she treated them. Instead, a few hours with Aidan had made her if not eager then at least willing to treat the pirates with some level of civility, although most of what she said was still lined with subtle sarcastic barbs that the child would easily miss if he overheard them. From what little information about herself that she had offered them, he'd figured out she was smart. Way smarter and better educated than your average marine and he wondered how and why she came into this life.

He couldn't tell how strong she was either. Her injuries made it impossible to gage her physical strength at the moment, and if she had some hidden ability she did an excellent job of hiding it. He knew she could use haki from what little he had seen in Plimey, and that it was strong enough, at the very least, to fend of a head-on attack from a logia fruit. Despite this, he got the impression she didn't fight much, at least not with her haki. Vaguely, he wondered if it was because she had some stronger weapon, but knew that wasn't something he'd get an answer to easily if ever.

When the house came into view ahead of them, the lights inside were still brightly lit. Yanagi turned her head to look at him, looking like she was playing with a thought but couldn't quite decide whether or not to risk it. In the end, she chose to risk it.

"So you and your buddy got to grill me for hours back there. Can I get one question in return?"

He grunted. "Don't see why not, oi."

"Why do you call Whitebeard 'pops'?"

Marco stopped in his tracks. Of all the questions he had been prepared to answer or deflect, or downright shoot down, this hadn't even crossed his mind. It wasn't an unusual question, though marines rarely asked it, and Marco found his mind wandering back to the very same conversation he'd had with Ace so long ago. He wondered why she wanted to know, but answered her with a shrug that shifted Aidan from one shoulder to the other, and the same thing he'd told Ace.

"Because he calls us his sons. To the rest of the world, we're just outcast. So even if it's just a word, it makes us happy."

He watched her face change in the half-light from the house. Surprise, sadness, and something almost wistful. He wanted to ask her why she had asked, but the next moment they were at the door and Ayana was pulling her child from his back and ushering Yanagi in with a worried comment about her injuries and overexertion. Instead, he bid both women good night and turned to make his was back to the beach. In the darkness of the sleeping village, the almost sorrowful look on the marine's face flashed behind his eyes like an important puzzle piece he couldn't place yet.

* * *

.

.

.

So, good or bad? I realize not a whole lot has been happening action wise, so I'm trying to move things along and make the chapters a teeny bit longer! There'll be some fighting within the next couple of chapters I promise!


	7. Under Currents

Hello everyone! I struggled a little bit with this chapter for some reason, so that's why I was a little bit slow in posting. Hope you enjoy it!

* * *

 **Chapter 6 – Under Currents  
** _Foodvalten, Grand Line – Present Day_

Yanagi fell asleep with Marco's words running circles in her head, and dreamed of a little girl trapped in a maze running endlessly down corridors screaming for her parents. She woke with a start when the dream screaming merged into the real-life sound of a kettle whistling from the kitchen. The sound cut off abruptly accompanied by the sound of plates and cutlery, and Yanagi took that as her cue to get up. Her skirt from the day before was folded neatly on the foot of the bed, with a fresh blouse and what looked like freshly bought undergarments. She smiled at Ayana's thoughtfulness and made a mental note to find some way to pay it back to her.

The blouse she had been given today was slightly tighter, and Yanagi opted to tie the lower half at her navel instead of tucking it in. The skirt fit a little more loosely this way, but she found knotting it at the waist remedied the problem well enough and hiked the skirt a little bit higher up her ankles. When she was dressed, Yanagi wandered into the kitchen to find Ayana finishing setting the table for three. She had laid out bacon and eggs, along with an assortment of fruits and had filled two cups with steaming tea and one smaller glass with juice. Her host looked up as she entered and smiled.

"Looks like you're an early riser. 'Suppose that makes sense being a marine and all. I've made tea, I hope that's okay."

"Yes, of course. I prefer it actually. Did you want me to go wake Aidan for you?"

Ayana shook her head gently. "No, he'll get up on his own soon enough. The smell of bacon is magical."

As Yanagi had suspected the day before, the house was hardly big enough for a guest room. Instead, she had been granted Aidan's room, while the boy slept with his mother in the other room at the back of the house. Ayana had assured her it was no problem, but Yanagi resolved to make another attempt at convincing her the couch was acceptable sometime that day. For the moment however, she simply lowered herself into a chair across from her host. Ayana, forever mysterious, produced a brush from nowhere and slid it across the table to her. Yanagi smiled and set to work on her hair.

"There's a toothbrush for you in the bathroom as well. I imagine your mouth must be starting to taste like sand."

"Thank you. Really. For everything. It's much too kind of you."

Ayana smiled gently and shook her head. "Hardly. You do a lot everyday to make the world safer for all of us in your line of work."

"I thought you'd be against marines, what with how much everyone on this island loves Whitebeard's crew."

"We're lucky here. Whitebeard is kind." Yanagi snorted and Ayana shot her a pointed look. "He is. Not even just by pirate standards, but in general. He protects this island because he can and asks for nothing in return. But that's not to say we don't know what other pirates are like."

The next moment Aidan barrelled into the kitchen as though summoned out of thin air, and their conversation was cut short as their meal began.

After their meal, Aidan made big fuss about going back to the beach, but his mother reminded him that now his guest was awake he needed to catch up on his chores. He pouted and whined and stomped around, all but screaming and Yanagi watched impressed as Ayana put an end to it in a single sentence.

"Then you better hurry through your chores so that you have time."

Looking forlorn the boy sulked back towards his room as the two women began cleaning up the dishes. When that was finished Yanagi offered to help around the house and, though her host resisted at first, ended up hanging laundry outside while Ayana went to town for some groceries. From the backyard, Yanagi could see down the path to town and watched the woman recede into the distance, while through the windows of the house she kept tabs on Aidan's clean up.

. . . . .

The walk to the beach was significantly shorter the second time around. They stopped to chat with Ayana when they passed her on her way back to the house and she assured them she would come to the beach later, but otherwise Aidan was a man on a mission and would not be stopped. The beach itself was much livelier than the day before, more supplies had been unloaded and, from what Yanagi could see, most of the pirates were now on the beach. Most were lazing around doing nothing. She recognized a few of the pirates from the night before, but noticed the commanders suspiciously absent.

She watched Aidan all but fly to the camp making a bee-line to the landing boats. A few pirates, noticing the group, broke off and joined the little boy at the shore. Around her, the pirates retreated to whatever they had been doing before she arrived. Marco and Thatch had magically appeared while her attention was elsewhere and were sitting near one of the emptier fire pits further up the beach. Deciding they were probably her safest bet, she wandered over to them largely ignored by everyone else. They greeted her politely as she sank down across from them.

Further up the beach in a patch of clear sand, a handful of pirates were sparring ringed by a pack of spectators. From what she could see, Yanagi counted a handful of fights going on at the same time. Restricted to hand-to-hand, the combatants circled one another throwing punches and kicks. Occasionally, someone would get tossed into another fight and the two brawls would merge into one for a brief time before someone would decide to turn on their 'partner' and they would separate.

"That's our version of training, oi."

The marine jumped in surprised at Marco's voice. He had been watching her across the fire, originally wary of her interest in the fights but quickly realizing it was pure curiosity rather than anything strategic.

"That's… an odd way to train."

Thatch butted in. "Well pirates are hardly the type to enjoy strict regimens."

If Yanagi noticed him poking fun at her she made no move to retaliate. Absorbed as she was in watching the different fights move around and through one another, Marco was surprised she answered at all.

"It looks fun."

The two commanders looked at each other. Not for the first time, the pirates wondered what marine training was like. Thatch, forever joking, waggled his eyebrows at her.

"Fancy having a go at it?"

Yanagi recoiled, more at his eyebrow gesture than his proposition, and Marco glared. A moment later she recovered and shook her head, lifting one bandaged hand to eye level and motioning to the rest of herself with the other. Undeterred Thatch motioned some over with a grand wave of his arm. A crowd was beginning to gather around them.

"She looks like she could handle a few rounds, right?"

"U-uh…"

"Exactly!"

Sensing she probably going to end up fighting _someone_ , Yanagi took quick stock of her injuries. The rope burns on her hands and wrist were painful but superficial, as were the cuts and bruises that covered her limbs. She had broken two of the fingers on her left hand and sprained her right ankle, and she hoped if it came down to it reinforcing them with Busoshoku haki would be enough to make a fight manageable. The worst was her ribs, impossible to miss in the mirror while she changed, bruises lined both sides of her body and bloomed black across most of her torso. Breathing was a careful affair as it was, and no amount of armament would stop her doubling over if someone struck her.

Unfortunately, Thatch seemed to have decided she was healed enough and was well on his way to finding a volunteer. Marco looked disapproving, but made no move to stop him as he pulled a man from the crowd and proclaimed him adequate. Aidan had appeared, drawn by the chaos and was practically bouncing with glee. Too late to get out of it now.

As slowly as physically possible Yanagi stood from her seat, Aidan clinging to her hand and bouncing on his heels. She almost sat right back down when she realized the person Thatch had pulled from the crowd was actually Ace. She glared balefully at the white-clad man, realizing from his grin that this had been planned since he'd recognized her as the marine from Plimey. Ace looked equally as displeased, although he was masking it behind a cocky grin and a taunting look. Around them his crewmates were jokingly taking bets and jeering. He moved to an open patch of sand a little ways off and Yanagi followed after detaching Aidan and depositing him with Marco.

"Hope you're ready for this seaweed hair."

Yanagi's eye twitched. "Seaweed's green not blue you dunce. I hope you fight better than you see." She heard the crew erupt into laughter behind her.

The next second Ace was running at her. He threw a punch at her face and she twisted backwards out of the way, bringing her leg up to knee him in the stomach as he went by. She fell through fire instead and jerked away half surprised but unburned. He raised an eyebrow at her mockingly and she just huffed, blowing the hair out of her face. When he came at her again she stepped lightly to the side, ending up face to face he made to grab her but a haki imbued elbow shot up into his face, knocking him back. He seemed a little more impressed when he straightened this time, nursing the bruise already forming on his jaw.

"You're not half bad."

She acquiesced with a tilt of her head. "Neither are you. I was aiming for your nose."

This time Yanagi lunged at him, moving as though she was going for a punch but swivelling at the last second to kick him. He stepped backward out of the way and swiped toward her ribs with his knee. She dropped down out of the way and swung both legs at his. He jumped up over her, coming down towards her stomach with his feet together. She rolled out of the way, planting her hands and twisting into a flip to right herself. Half a second later he was in her space aiming another punch at her face. She blocked it with her forearm, but felt the impact jar her whole arm. She blinked and his other fist was already coming at her face from the other side. A half second of panic flashed through her and suddenly she could see the exact corner of her face that he was aiming at through his mind's eye. The flash of Kenbunshoku nearly blinded her with its onrush and she only just twisted out of the way.

She shook her head, struggling against herself as her haki pulled her deeper and suddenly she was getting flashes of memories instead of attack plans. Bandits sitting around laughing, a straw hat rolling across the floor, a blond with a toothy grin and a top hat. Disconcerted and struggling to separate herself from Ace's memories, Yanagi barely twisted out of the way of another punch.

She kicked up at him and he caught her ankle with one hand, altering his punch to hit her hard in the neck with a downswing of his forearm. She swallowed to stop her muscles seizing. Dropping her upper body down and using her hands to stand, she swung her other leg toward his head on the same side as her other leg. She clipped his elbow as he tossed her leg away from him and watched him try to flex some feeling back into his fingers as she straightened. Forced to use her haki just to touch him, her blows were easily as strong as a man twice her size, and she'd nailed him right on the delicate part of the joint.

Thatch called from the sidelines. "Starting to enjoy yourself?"

Truthfully she was, but instead of answering she shot him a glare and nearly flipped him off before remembering the young child somewhere in the audience. Her broken fingers were throbbing from the force of twisting herself upright after Ace had thrown her and sprained ankle was beginning to feel weak.

"How long do these usually go on for?" Her ribs pulsed to her heart rate as she asked.

"Until someone concedes." Marco called, "Or until someone sensible steps in."

"In this case, that will be me."

Every pirate on the beach stiffened visible as Ayana's voice resounded from behind them. Aidan, oblivious of his mother's displeasure, ran right up to her and began recounting everything in detail. When he was finished, she sent him off to play in a much calmer voice than anyone had expected, and he ran off blissfully unaware. When she turned back to the pirates, they all shifted uncomfortably.

"Right then, so who's idea was this?"

Some of the crew began mumbling incoherently, while the vast majority drifted away from the scene as though they had never been involved. Eventually, it became clear that Thatch was the main perpetrator and Ace was labelled his accomplice. Marco washed his hands of the whole affair and beckoned Yanagi over to the fire. She dropped into the sand and reclined against a log. Her injuries were throbbing, and her hands burned where sand had wormed into her bandages and rubbed against her rope burns. Her head was worse, a constant pain building behind her eyeballs as though something was compressing her skull.

"You're a good fighter, oi."

No strength for sarcasm, she took the bait. "Been in the navy my whole life."

Marco seemed surprised. "Really, oi?"

"I was placed in the navy's custody after some sailors found me in a shipwreck. No one knew what happened so they assumed it was a commercial ship that got attacked by pirates. Been with the navy ever since."

Ace had joined the pair at this point, though Yanagi barely noticed. Her head was spinning and her injuries felt like they were only getting worse.

"And that's why you hate pirates?"

Yanagi jumped at Ace's voice. "Guess so. S'kinda trained into you over there too, 'specially at HQ."

Marco frowned. "You were trained at Marineford?"

"It's the only time I've ever left the New World."

There was a long pause as the two commanders considered this. Shipwrecks in the New World weren't uncommon. The islands themselves were dangerous but it was the sea in the New World that claimed the most victims. With weather patterns more extreme and unpredictable than the first half of the Grand Line, and Sea Kings braver than anywhere else in the world the waters were a terror all their own. The ship being in the New World at all, with a child on board no less, was a testament that the crew had been confident in its ability to survive. Pirate attacks weren't uncommon, but then again neither were navy ships. What _was_ uncommon in the New World were commercial ships that went between islands carrying children. Marco frowned, but Ace forever filter-less blurted out the thought as it struck him.

"What if it wasn't pirates though?"

Yanagi, half sedated with pain roused herself at the question. "What?"

"What if it wasn't pirates that shipwrecked you when you were a kid?"

Fully awake now, she sat up. "What _else_ could it be?"

Marco, sensing things were taking a turn for the worst attempted to intervene. "Ace-"

"Marines!"

Marco glared at Ace and Yanagi sat dumbstruck. The older commander tried to mend the situation as best he could.

"It could just as easily have been a storm, or some other tragedy. It seems odd that they would label it a pirate attack like that without solid proof."

Yanagi sucked in a shuddering breath. "The full report is in my file but I've never seen it." And then to Ace, "Marines don't go making children _orphans_ , that's a pirate's work."

Ace glared. "They make children orphans all the time!"

"When?"

"When they execute pirates and their families!" He stood violently and stormed off.

Yanagi blinked and Marco watched Ace head off down the beach silently. When he turned back to the woman nearby she was staring angrily at the fire ahead of her. Marco sighed and weighed his options.

"It's not like I don't know it's a flawed system…"

Marco's head swivelled back to the marine in surprise. She didn't look as though she were talking to anyone in particular. It occurred to him that she had probably already thought all the different scenarios through, had probably turned over every possible logical explanation and ended up rejecting them all for different reasons. In the end, through her induction into the navy, the scenario presented by her superiors became the only acceptable explanation.

"I just… don't know any other way…"

Marco wondered what her life would have been like if that shipwreck had never happened. Who would she be in the endless struggle for power out here? He dropped a sympathetic hand onto her shoulder and was surprised when she didn't immediately snap. She just closed her eyes and pulled her knees to her chest.

* * *

.

.

.

So, let me know what you think!


	8. Storm's Edge

Hello again! Sorry the chapter came so late today! I'll be real busy over the weekend so there might be slightly longer intervals between chapters for the next couple of day, but I'll do my best! Anyway, enjoy :)

* * *

 **Chapter 7 – Storm's Edge**  
 _Foodvalten, Grand Line – Present Day_

Yanagi made an effort to avoid Ace and the majority of the pirates over the next few days. Not that she saw much of them to begin with. Not long after her fight with the young commander, Vista had appeared and informed them that the men stationed as lookouts on the South side of the island had spotted the incoming rookie ship they were here to deal with. Nearly instantly, the pirate camp had erupted into a flurry of activity and Ayana shepherded her son and guest back to the house. The pirates spent the following days preparing the beach, laying out plans, and warning the town's people, and for the most part nobody saw much of them except in passing.

Yanagi was glad for the break. Ayana let her continue helping with chores, and the simple work let the marine piece together her thoughts. She had spent a good deal of her childhood wondering what had really happened to the ship carrying her, to her parents. She had always thought it strange that she wasn't allowed to see the report for that day when everyone at the headquarters was always quick to remind her that pirates were to blame. It was doubly frustrating to her to be grappling with the same puzzle so many years later. Even more so because it was a _pirate_ forcing her to acknowledge the strangeness of it all.

The issue of the pirates themselves was another thing she had studiously been avoiding, but it crept up on her during her quieter moments alone. Pirates were outlaws. She had been taught the worst about them and, until just recently, had been more than happy to believe everything the navy said about them. But here, on this island, she was discovering it was too easy for them to become people to her. Watching them play fight with a little boy and carry him home after he dozed off. The respect with which they all treated his mother. Even the way they had started to treat her after she had abandoned her pretense of hatred. Thatch with his jokes, Marco's endless patience. Even Ace, despite his insults, had shared a sort of grudging respect with her up until their spat.

Yanagi sighed heavily, folding the last of the laundry and racking her fingers through her hair. Behind her, on the couch, Ayana looked up from the shirt she was repairing.

"Something bothering you? You've been doing an awful lot of sighing lately."

"I'm alright."

Ayana looked skeptical. "Well, if you're sure…Do you think you could check on Aidan for me? He's not usually this quiet."

Yanagi nodded and ventured off down the hall. It was raining on the island for the first time since she'd been here, and Aidan was confined to the house. He was sitting at his window when she walked in, watching the rain coming down in sheets that obscured even the forest line only a few meters away. He seemed unusually solemn and she wondered if it was the rain or something else. Carefully she sank down onto his bed and watched him. He was curled around one of his action figures; a man, no taller than the length of her hand, with a scruffy brown beard and short hair. Eventually Aidan turned away from the window and crawled up beside her to curl into her side. She carded a hand through his floppy mess of hair as he peered up at her.

"My dad used to take me out to play in the mud puddles when it rained."

Unsure, Yanagi went along with him. "That's how you get sick."

He shook his head violently. "My dad was the toughest, bravest, most strongest man on Whitebeard's ship! That's why he was commander. He didn't get sick."

Yanagi's heart pounded once, violently, against her ribcage and then went still. Something dropped, heavy and leaden into her gut and she had to take a deep breath before she could force words out past the lump in her throat. Her hands trembled as the swiped through the boy's hair once more.

"Why don't you ask your mom to take you then?"

A sadder, slower shake of his head. "Mama gets sad when I talk about him. Angry too. She was stomping around for hours when she heard there was a new commander to replace him. But I think Ace's fire is cool, so it's okay with me."

Yanagi shut her eyes and felt the blood drain from her face. "Windchill" William had been Whitebeard's second division commander, up until about a year ago. With the same floppy brown hair he'd passed on to his son, he was the sort of man who's name was often heard in bars accompanied by a fond smile or a laugh. She'd read the report of his death, attributed to Admiral Kizaru, when it had made the rounds of Navy Headquarters as something akin to a victory declaration. Feeling sick, Yanagi turned her attention back to the boy.

"I-I'm-" Then, changing her mind, "Why don't we find something fun to do then? I'm sure you dad wouldn't want you sitting around all gloomy."

A tentative smile crept across Aidan's face. "Could we make cookies?"

Relieved, Yanagi smiled. "If your mother says it's okay, we can do whatever you want."

Yanagi spent the rest of the day subject to Aidan's rapidly changing whims. They made cookies first, then planted themselves at the table to draw while they baked and cooled. After that, they played the-floor-is-lava, hide-and-seek, and a short bout of tag in the late afternoon when the sky cleared for an hour or so. They ran around, laughing and screaming until Yanagi "slipped" and fell in a puddle setting off a mud war. At which point, both were sentenced to showers by Ayana. Aidan fell asleep after that and Yanagi went about helping her host prepare their meal for the night.

She was in the middle of stirring a pot or rice to stop it boiling over when Ayana looked up from where she had been preparing the meat and marinade.

"Thank you for today. He always gets so gloomy when it rains and I just don't know how to deal with it."

Yanagi shrugged, feeling guilt punch through her again with more force than before. "Don't thank me, it's the least I can do."

"My husband used to play with him like that, had a knack for it. But he-"

Yanagi cut her off gently. "Aidan told me. Well, some of it. I put the rest together myself."

"O-oh…"

The long pause that followed constricted the air in Yanagi's lungs. The words she had choked on with Aidan spilled from her mouth unbidden.

"I'm so sorry."

Ayana turned to look over her shoulder, mouth open and ready to assure her there was nothing to apologize for. Her words ground to a halt though, as she caught sight of her guest. Yanagi was hunched over the pot, still stirring slowly, but her shoulders trembled just a little as she breathed. Her apology had sounded sincere, though there was a hint of something underneath that made her think back to all the sighing the marine had been doing lately. Watching her stirring away, Ayana wondered how many of Yanagi's life choices had truly been her own.

. . . . .

The rest of the evening passed uneventfully. Aidan was back to his usually bubbly self, chattering through dinner while his mothers and Yanagi shared relieved and amused glances. They finished dinner and were in the process of cleaning up when a knock sounded on the door. Aidan bounded away down the hall while his mother hurried to wipe her hands dry and follow him. Yanagi stayed put, elbow deep in soapy water, listening to Aidan's excited chattering.

She looked up when someone came into the kitchen. Immediately, regretting it she turned back to the dishes and tried to make herself invisible. Ace had wandered in, towed by Aidan, and been parked on the couch before the young boy had run off to fetch something from his room. Through the door, she could hear Ayana speaking with someone vaguely familiar, Vista most likely. The silence in the room was awkward as Yanagi finished the last of the dishes and drained the sink, praying from the water to run faster and let her escape with it.

"I'm sorry." Yanagi jerked around at Ace's voice. "I was insensitive yesterday."

She searched his face, seeing the sincerity, and smiled. He was trying very hard, she could tell, despite how odd all their conversations and encounters had been so far. Still, she could hardly resist teasing him.

"Marco yelled at you didn't he?"

"Hey!"

Yanagi laughed and, a moment later when Ace caught onto her teasing tone, the pirate laughed as well. She sobered quickly, wandering closer to where he sat on the couch, and offered her hand to shake.

"I'm sorry too. It's not like I don't know the Navy is fucked up, it's just… they raised me. It's scary to think about them keeping things from me. So… we good?"

"Yeah, we're good."

A moment later, Aidan came barrelling back into the room carrying one of the drawings he'd made earlier. It was a picture of Yanagi and Ace's sparring match, drawn in the crude heavy hand of a child and colored in excess. Still, Ace made a show of appreciating the picture and announcing how he would make the whole crew jealous with it. Not much later, Vista wandered in with Ayana and the mood sobered slightly. Immediately, the fifth division commander got down to business.

"We're expecting the rookies to show up sometime in the early hours of the morning. There's only one way onto the island so everything should stay contained, but on the off chance that it doesn't we've told everyone that you're safest bet is to stay together in the old church tonight."

Yanagi blinked. "There's a church on this island?"

Ace snorted. "Case and point."

"What? I've only been here like a week, and the only places I've been are the beach and here. Cut me some slack!"

Ayana cut in. "The old church is set some ways back into the woods, near the foot of the mountain. It's where the original settlement was meant to be."

Vista nodded along sagely. "It's also almost in the exact center of the island. Which means it's right in the middle of dense forest and relatively hard to get to quickly."

Yanagi gave both pirates a deadpan look. "So you've waited until after dark to tell us this because…?"

Both pirates looked at each other, Ace scratched the back of his head nervously while Vista plainly looked dumbstruck. Yanagi rolled her eyes. Calmly, Ayana stood and gently asked Aidan to go pack himself a bag of anything he would need overnight. She turned to Yanagi with a calm shrug.

"It would have been more difficult to get to the church in the rain anyway. At least things have had the chance to dry up since this afternoon."

Vista nodded along as though that was the logic all along. "Someone will be up at the church all night and tomorrow just in case so everyone should be fine. And since we came so late, we'll walk you up just to be safe."

Aidan came bounding back into the room carrying a bag that looked very nearly empty, and a peek inside revealed he'd deemed only to bring a few shirts and the one toy figurine he'd been carting around all afternoon. They filed out into the hall and began pulling on their sandals. Ayana disappeared from a moment, presumably to collect her own things, and came back carrying two bags and what looked like a handful of leather straps attached to a piece of metal. Yanagi stood confused for a moment when she offered them to her.

"This is yours. Sorry I didn't get it back to you sooner, one of the straps broke off."

With a start, Yanagi realized is was her thigh holster and staff. She had assumed it had fallen off when she took her nose dive off the mast and was swept away. She took it gently from Ayana, peeled her skirt to the side where the slit ended and strapped it on with practiced ease. She straightened and, suddenly feeling more at ease than she had in days, grinned widely.

. . . . .

The old church was surprisingly well kept. The forest grew right up to the sides of the building, leaves pressing in against the windows and vines curling up the sides. The steeple rose up nearly to the top of the tree line, with branches brushing against the tiles of the roofing. Despite this, the inside of the building was clean and the roof intact. They arrived last of everyone in the village and settled into a corner. The three fell asleep quickly, assuming when the light filtered through in the morning the danger would have passed.

Yanagi startled awake in the early hours of the morning to an uneasy feeling sinking into her gut. Confused she pushed herself to her feet and stumbled out to where the scout was posted. He was leaning against the wall by the door relaxing when she poked her head out through the heavy wooden doors. Around them the night hummed with activity. She turned to the pirate, whispering as the nerves in her stomach escalated.

"Everything been quiet out here?"

He nodded, suppressing a yawn. "Why? Something wrong?"

"Something's wrong."

She frowned, reaching out with her haki as far as it would go. The serene sleepy presence of the people in the church washed over her first, then the semi-alert presence of the guard and the night-time animals in the trees around them. Pushing out further she reached out and brushed against the pirates on the beach. Frowning, she swept the perimeter of the island and stopped when something tingled against her senses somewhere to the west. A sharp breath whistled through her teeth.

"They're not going to the beach."

* * *

.

.

.

So, decent? Let me know!


	9. Tides of War

Hey again! This chapter took forever to write and I am so sorry for that. I've got the story line all worked out but I always get stuck on the fight scenes. Anyway, hope you enjoy it!

As always I don't own One Piece or it's characters!

* * *

 **Chapter 8 – Tides of War  
** _Foodvalten, Grand Line – Present Day_

Yanagi's feet hit the sand and she flailed as her momentum sent her sliding through the sand. She had been running since she left the church, and her sprained ankle throbbed from the strain of the uneven terrain. Sweat plastered her hair to her forehead as the humidity on the island rose steadily. Dark cloud spread across the sky and blocked the early morning light, throwing the island into twilight. Out on the water, waves tossed ominously as a storm rolled in.

The camp of sleeping pirates was quiet, but the guard on duty saw her immediately. Recognizing the head-to-toe all-white outfit, she breathed a sigh of relief and met him at the edge of the camp. He shot her an inquisitive look as she reached him.

"Bit of an odd time for a stroll."

Yanagi rolled her eyes. "You need to get everyone up. They're not coming to the beach."

"What? That's-"

"Look, they're here already and they've got multiple ships. You-"

Another voice cut across her. "What's going on?"

Marco came into view just behind Thatch's shoulder, brushing sand from his shoulders where it had settled as he slept. Around them, the rest of the camp was stirring to life. Ace and Vista appeared from somewhere else and joined the conversation as their crewmates watched groggily. Hastily, Yanagi explained as best she could.

"This rookie crew you're waiting for? They sailed through the night and dropped anchor on the west side of the island. Not a small crew either, two ships worth."

Ace frowned. "And how do _you_ know that?"

"Because I can sense them."

Vista's brows pulled up in surprise. "That's a wide range to be covering with haki, isn't it?"

"That's not the point right now! Look helping pirates isn't exactly in my job description either, but people are going to get caught in the crossfire at this rate."

Marco, ever the voice of reason, drew her attention to him. "What are you getting at?"

"They arrived almost half an hour ago and will have managed to scale the cliff by now. They're going to be taking as direct a path as they can, but the mountain will be in their way. Do you see where I'm going with this?"

Marco was nodding slowly as it sank in. "They're going to go right past the church."

"Yeah. And these guys are smart. They're not going to pass up the chance to take hostages against you. I had the guy on guard outside wake everyone and warn them but there was nowhere to hide but the mountain."

The commanders were all sharing worried glances now. Yanagi continued undeterred.

"The other problem is they've got two ships, and only one of them stopped and dropped anchor. The other one's looping back away from the island. Best guess is they're waiting until their friends have started fighting you lot and then they'll come in to take your ship and stop anyone getting off the island."

Thatch was nodding along. "Not a bad move. Covers all the bases."

Vista looked out to the waters. "Divides their power though."

Ace looked puzzled. "Bold move for a crew with no Devil Fruit users."

"No Devil Fruits?"

The four commanders turned to Yanagi's confused expression. Marco answered her with a shrug.

"All the information we've got on these guys says no one on the crew has a Devil Fruit. Not that that's really anything to gauge their strength with."

Thatch grinned. "They could be strong, or they could just be optimistic."

Yanagi frowned. Something about this scenario was tickling her memory, on the edges of what she could recall. It made her uneasy, like there was something major she was missing and couldn't quite put her finger on. She didn't have long to think on it, as Marco drew their attention back with the beginnings of an embryonic plan.

. . . . .

"You're _sure_ we're going the right way?"

Yanagi turned to Ace for what might have been the twentieth time in less than an hour. What had started as an honest question had devolved into harmless teasing at the adrenaline from the coming fight began to kick in. Marco's plan had involved splitting the crewmembers into four and dividing them up amongst the four commanders. Thatch had taken a few men back to defend the ship, while Vista has stayed posted on the beach. Marco had taken a group up to the mountain, leaving a more than slightly pleased Ace the job of burning the landing boat and dealing with any loitering pirates.

He'd taken only a handful of the crew with him, as they'd all assumed the landing ship would be relatively unguarded. The small party numbered only a handful of crewmembers, briefly introduced to Yanagi before setting off from the beach. Their names were already beginning to blur together in her mind, and she doubted she would remember any of them by the end of this.

She ducked under another low-hanging branch, ferns tangling around her ankles as she twisted a little to maneuver better, and silently cursed her luck. Marco had enlisted her help to find the ship's location because of her haki. Somewhere along the way, Ace had taken to calling her Radar, which only served to agitate her already pounding head ache.

"For the last time, _yes_ we're going the right way Ace. God what are you, _twelve_?"

"Hey, I-!"

She cut him off, abruptly pulling him and the nearest pirate into a cluster of tangled branches. He glared at her, opening his mouth to protest and she lunged at him, smothering his mouth with her hands just as a figure swept past them. Around them, the forest was filling with mist in the early morning light, transforming the shapes around them into eerie silhouettes. Yanagi shot Ace a meaningful look, and he grimaced in return.

"Why're we hiding?"

"Something weird is going on. I can only sense one presence all of a sudden."

Ace rolled his eyes, motioning to the small group of crewmates around him and signaling them forward. They lurched forward, out into the mist with a roar and Yanagi, helplessly, followed suit. Around her the pirates began disappearing into the mist, and silence descended as each figure disappeared into the thick atmosphere. The silence was oppressive and Yanagi stumbled to halt, struggling to understand. Somewhere off to her left a bullet whistled past her ears without warning, while further away through the fog lights bloomed explosively without ever breaching the veil.

Her head pounded violently as the mist pressed in around her. It felt like a living presence to her, and as it swirled in closer it blocked everything else from her senses; the pirates she had come with, Ace, the trees around her, the island, until nothing was left but her. Head swimming, she half-sprinted to the location of the last blast, hoping the fire logia wouldn't outright kill her by accident. Ahead, fire bubbled out of the mist and she stumbled to a halt as she came to a halt directly behind him. He whirled, fist raised and aflame before noticing who it was and lowering his arm.

"You really shouldn't sneak up on people like that."

She huffed. "Not intentional. Any idea what's up with this?"

"No clue. My fire doesn't get rid of it. It's like a wall against sounds and stuff too."

Yanagi looked around confused. She opened her mouth to speak when, without warning, she was blasted off her feet from behind, flying several feet before slamming horizontally across the trunk of a tree. Her previous injuries screamed as she collapsed struggling to force air into her lungs. Ace had moved to her side and looped an arm around her waist to hoist her up. She wheezed, whole body trembling against Ace's side as she struggled to breathe. Ahead of them, near where they had just been standing, the mist was condensing into the form of a person. Beside her, Ace huffed and glared at the person materializing.

"So much for no Devil Fruits. Any idea who this might be Radar?"

Yanagi wheezed. "I swear to _God_ Portgas, call me that one more time and I'll hand you over to a firing squad myself."

"Guess you're okay after all if you can talk like that." Then, more loudly, "So what's your deal? Devil Fruit right?"

The figure drew closer, and Yanagi took in the details of their attacker with the same vague familiarity she had experienced when Marco had first talked about the crew. It was a young woman, with wild slate grey hair and a complexion to match her abilities. Decked out in sleeveless black combat-attire and a white unadorned porcelain mask, the only thing that gave her away as a woman was the slight swell of her hips and chest. When she spoke, her voice was wispy but rough.

"I would explain myself, _Fire Fist_ , but you'll be dead soon either way. But I'm feeling courteous today so I supposed I'll ease your curiosity. I've been blessed with the powers of the Kiri-Kiri no Mi. You'll find it has many interesting abilities."

Ace snorted as he stepped away from Yanagi and pulled his arm back for a punch. Flames lit around his arm as he unleashed his signature attack, only for his opponent to dissolve and re-materialize a few feet to the right. The woman laughed breezily.

"Are you sure you should be throwing your flames around so carelessly, _Fire Fist_?"

With a wave of her wrist, the mist parted to reveal Ace's crewmates littered haphazardly throughout the small area. As the mist cleared away from them, their presences reappeared in Yanagi's senses and she was surprised to find she was relieved they weren't dead. In front of her, Ace clenched his fist. The woman disappeared again and the mist closed in around them. Unwilling to be separated, Yanagi made to grab Ace's elbow and watched as an arm materialized between them, aiming for Ace.

Without thinking, she pulled her staff from its holster. She pushed her haki through the weapon, and brought it down hard against the arm's elbow just as it connected with Ace's shoulder. He stumbled forward with the impact, while their attacker shrieked and disappeared back into the mist. He gripped his shoulder with a surprised look as he turned back to Yanagi.

"That made contact…"

Yanagi rolled her eyes. "You're welcome." Ace scowled but let her continue. "And it makes sense she can touch you. Kiri means mist, and mist is just water. She probably cancels your fire out."

The second division commander opened his mouth to protest just as a leg materialized out of the mist and slammed across his side. He was sent stumbling to the side, and Yanagi stepped in. Her staff came up and clipped her opponent's ankle as it came back down. Another shriek echoed through the forest and the woman reformed few paces away. She crouched, cradling her ankle with one hand while the other arm hung limp at her side, the elbow shattered from Yanagi's previous strike.

Favouring one leg, the woman rose to her feet and pulled a dagger from her belt. She rushed at Yanagi, striking repeatedly and forcing her back a few steps at a time. Despite the longer reach of her staff, Yanagi found herself struggling as the mist rolled in around her obscuring her footing. She stumbled against something and pitched backwards just as the woman lunged for Yanagi's face. She brought her staff up hard as she fell, slamming it into the woman's jaw just as a wall of flame caught her in the side and sent her retreating back into mist form. Ace appeared and offered her a hand, pulling her to her feet with a cheeky grin.

"What happened to your fancy footwork from the beach?"

She rolled her eyes, but took his offered hand anyway. "One of these days, Portgas…"

Their attacker reappeared. Her mask had shattered and part of it fell away from her face to reveal a sharp jawline and thin lips. She scowled at the both of them and Yanagi noted with some pride the large bruise blooming across the side of her jaw. Without warning, the woman lunged at them again. Yanagi lurched out of the way, rolling to a stop and stumbling when she landed on her bad ankle. Her attacker took the opportunity and jumped at her with her dagger. Yanagi blocked her with her staff, stopping the knife just above her head.

"Shinka: SHIRANUI!"

Before either could make another move what looked like a spear made of fire flew past Yanagi's head and struck the mist woman in the shoulder. She dropped back with a shriek, steam rising from the wound where the two Devil Fruit powers clashed. The next moment, she dissolved completely and the mist pressed in tighter until the pair lost sight of each other even as they stood only a few inches apart.

"Hitoshirezu fukumen."

A shape appeared at the edge of her vision and Yanagi turned, ready for an attack only to find that the scenery had changed completely. Wooden boards creaked beneath her feet as she came face to face with a marine. She froze, recognizing the weather-worn face and fair hair of Captain Marlow as he stepped out of the mist. His clothes were shredded in places and blood splatters speckled his face, which looked now as young as the day he had found her. Behind him the bodies of pirates and marines alike lay strewn across the deck, unmoving.

Hearing something behind her, Yanagi turned away from her old captain just in time to watch something small scurry into hiding behind a barrel. Vaguely, she thought she heard crying as captain Marlow pulled out a saber and stalked past her towards the barrel, obscuring her view. He began pulling it out of the way, and Yanagi inched closer trying to see around him. She caught a glimpse of a small foot just as the deck pitched and sent all of them stumbling to the side. Something roared in her ears as she straightened, struggling to get a clear view as the scene began to fade and what looked like large fireflies began appearing in the air around her.

"Hidaruma!"

She stepped back surprised as the fireflies caught fire. Around her, the air cleared as the mist evaporated. Ace stood off to her left, arms out and flaming palms facing out ahead of him. He was watching the mist woman as more and more of his flaming fireflies landed on her. She was screaming, steam rising from her body as the fire literally evaporated her. When she disappeared, Ace lowered his arms and dropped his head forward with a sigh. He looked older and soberer than she'd ever seen him, and Yanagi approached him cautiously.

"You alright?"

He nodded, motioning out towards the edge of the island where they could just barely see the mast of the rooky ship clearing the shelf of the cliff.

"I'm gonna get that over with. Mind checking to see that everyone's okay?"

Yanagi nodded, watching him go before turning to her own job. It turned out to be unnecessary, however, as the pirates were all slowly picking themselves off the ground and brushing themselves down looking more annoyed than anything else. Ace returned quickly, a fire blazing over the side of the cliff bright enough to obscure the sun rising behind it.

. . . . .

The group moved through the woods, back in the direction of the church. They had all collectively agreed that offering back up to Marco's group would be the best course of action and had left the burning ship behind them. The atmosphere was sober as they trekked through the forest undergrowth, and Yanagi was vaguely worried as she watched Ace brood as he walked with her. She was about to ask him when, out from the forest ahead of them, someone stumbled into view.

Around her, the pirates tensed into fighting stances. Yanagi pushed past them, recognizing the head of maroon hair that came tumbling out of the bushes.

"Ayana!"

She helped the woman straighten up as she panted for air. Her clothes were torn in places, hair wild, and eyes panicked. She looked terrified. Ace came up beside the two women, worry twisting his freckled face.

"Ayana, what happened? Why're you out here?"

She half sobbed. "Aidan. I can't find him! He ran off in the commotion, I don't-!"

She doubled over again, panting and sobbing. The pirates looked helplessly from one to the other, while Yanagi felt the air leave her lungs with a whistle. Her head swam and she forced herself to take a deep breath and focus. She shook Ayana gently to get her attention before turning to Ace.

"I'll take Ayana and go find Aidan. You can get to the church on your own, yeah?"

Ace nodded. "You sure?"

Yanagi rolled her eyes and nudged him with her elbow. "Not starting to worry about me, are you? I'll be fine. This is a fight between pirate crews anyway, not really my business."

The group of pirates snorted at her comment, and a grin curved across Ace's face. "Point taken. Take care out there, don't know who might be skulking around."

She smiled, carefully pulling Ayana away from the group of pirates. Her head was still throbbing from the last fight, but her haki gave her an idea of the direction she needed. She set off into the woods, Ayana in tow, and cast one last glance at the pirates watching them. They watched the pair of woman until they disappeared into the trees before setting off themselves. Ace followed last, something he couldn't quite name pulling at his thoughts. He cast one last worried glance in the direction the women had taken, before pushing his hesitation aside and following his crew mates to the church.

* * *

.

.

.

So, let me know what you think! :)  
PS, for those of you wondering 'Hitoshirezu fukumen' roughly translates to 'Hidden Veil'


	10. Monsters in the Deep

Hey guys! Finally, here's the next chapter. I'm so sorry that took so long, but I've started working full time and I don't have as much time as I did when I started this story. I'll do my best to keep updating as frequently as possible, so please be patient with me!

As always; I don't own One Piece! Enjoy!

* * *

 **Chapter 9 – Monsters in the Deep  
** _Foodvalten, Grand Line – Present Day_

Yanagi's head swam as she struggled through the dense forest. Around her, the forest was alive and pushing at her senses. She struggled to keep her haki at bay, focusing solely on Aidan's presence. Her surroundings blurred together, and she payed little attention to _where_ exactly she was going, until she stumbled into the clearing behind Ayana's house. Aidan waved from the back door, grinning widely before disappearing inside. Ayana made a strangled noise in her throat and rushed past Yanagi, standing frozen on the edge of the property.

"Ayana wait-!"

Too late. The woman rushed into the house after her son and disappeared out of view. Yanagi's stomach clenched as something, decidedly not Aidan, flickered out of view behind one of the windows. Against her better judgement she rushed into the building, pulling her staff from its holster as she breached the doorway.

When nothing immediately jumped out to attack her she edged further into the house, staff up and ready for an assault. Aidan had neglected to turn on any lights in the house, and the rooms branching out from the hallway seemed cavernous in their darkness. She checked each room as she went past; the bathroom, Ayana's bedroom, Aidan's room, the linen closet. All were untouched despite the presence of a young boy whose patience ran thin on the best of days. Hearing sounds from the living area, Yanagi wandered over as soundlessly as she could manage.

Inside, she could hear Aidan and Ayana talking quietly. Ayana's voice was calm and subdued despite the panic she had been experiencing only moments earlier and Yanagi felt alarm bells beginning to blare in her mind. Their voices were joined by a man's, deep and smooth, that she'd never heard before and an angrier, gruffer voice she recognized as Marco's. Confused, she reached out with her haki only to nearly double over at the lance of pain that flared up behind her eyes. She stumbled into the wall with a dull thud and the conversation in the kitchen stopped briefly before that same smooth voice floated into her ears.

"Ah, it seems our final guest has arrived. If you would please, my dear."

Ayana came around the corner nodding complacently at whoever she had just left in the kitchen. She grabbed Yanagi's elbow, grip firmer than necessary, and pulled her into the kitchen without a word. Marco was sitting sideways at the table, looking calm except for the anger in his eyes. His posture was the kind of forced-relaxation Yanagi recognized from watching high ranking marines in meetings; legs sprawled out, body slouched and one arm resting on the table while the other draped over the back of his chair. Yanagi noted with alarm the heavy seastone manacle clamped around one of his wrists.

Thoroughly confused, Yanagi swept the kitchen again. There was a man sitting opposite Marco at the table, his reclined form almost dwarfing the chair he sat in. Despite his large stature, his face was round and made even more non-threatening by the mess of black hair falling over his eyes and obscuring the top half of his face. Aidan was sat comfortably in his lap, grinning up at the man like his birthday had come early. He swivelled around when Ayana deposited Yanagi into the seat beside Marco and shackles them together before either could move. Aidan continued to grin as though nothing was wrong.

"Look Yanagi, my dad's come back for a visit!"

Yanagi shot Marco a horrified look, tilting her head in the direction of the young boy and the man who was obviously _not_ his father. Marco's face twisted and he made a helpless gesture with his shoulders. Across from them the man stood from his seat, the boy firmly cradled against his side. He spread his other arm, like he was welcoming old friends, and sauntered over with a grin.

"Now that all our _honoured_ guests have arrived, we can get down to business. You'll be more than happy to escort us to the church won't you?"

Yanagi felt her head go fuzzy as he spoke, as though a sudden drowsiness had taken over her. She found herself nodding along almost immediately, standing and pulling Marco to his feet, before marching out of the house and off into the woods without even registering that it was happening.

. . . . .

By the time Yanagi snapped back to herself, their small group was nearly back at the church already. The man was walking ahead of them, Aidan clinging to one with Ayana on the boy's other side. Beside her, Marco was watching her through half-lidded eyes. He'd regained his usual composure at some point during the walk and seemed to be waiting for something on her part. When she met his eyes, he flicked a glance at the trio ahead of them before shifting closer, mumbling under his breath.

"You back in your head, oi?"

Yanagi shot her own suspicious look ahead. "Yeah… What happened to me?"

Marco shrugged. "No idea, oi. It's some kind of Devil Fruit ability, that's how he got me."

"What happened?"

The annoyed look flickered back onto his face. "Turned the villagers on us, oi. Aidan and Ayana mostly but everyone else too. Not like we couldn't take 'em but there was no guarantee someone wouldn't die and well…"

Yanagi grimaced, the familiar feeling that she was missing something vital flickering in her mind. She watched the man walking ahead of them, completely apathetic to the small boy clinging to his side and felt something burn red hot in her gut. Using the villagers was one thing, but using Aidan's grief over his father was another entirely. Her attention flickered back to Marco as he nudged her in the side.

"You wouldn't happen to have any insights, Mrs. Marine?"

Yanagi scowled at him, but he grinned unrepentant. She sighed. "What's the crew called?"

"The Bloodsaw Pirates. Or something like that, oi."

Something clicked in Yanagi's brain and she stiffened beside Marco. "You don't mean Warsaw Pirates do you?"

"That'd be them."

Internally, Yanagi cringed. Just her luck that one of the big rookies that had been terrorizing the Grand Line would be attacking the island she ended up on. The crew had been causing trouble for over a year, leaving mayhem and carnage in their wake and developing the kind of reputation that made Yanagi hate pirates. More importantly, they left a rather confusing clean-up behind them when the marines showed up, as most witnesses reported no attack ever happening and those that did insisted no Devil Fruits were used despite the Buster-Call levels of destruction. The mystery had only been solved recently, when a lucky break found them a witness with uncorrupted information.

"The Shin-shin no Mi, that's his Devil Fruit."

Marco quirked a brow at her. "A truth fruit?"

"It doesn't sound like much on paper but the reality is… difficult to deal with. Whatever he says becomes fact to his targets. Doesn't matter if the evidence against it is right there in front of them, they'll believe every word out of his mouth. It wears off eventually but still."

Marco frowned. "That's troublesome, oi. Anyone else noteworthy?"

Yanagi shook her head. "Their navigator had a logia fruit with some pretty impressive side effects, but Ace dealt with her earlier."

Marco nodded slowly, soaking in the information. They arrived at the church clearing at this point. All around, numerous Warsaw pirates sat lounging while the town's people gathered in a group at the edge of the clearing looking dazed and fearful. The Whitebeard pirates were corralled near the church. Yanagi recognized a few faces before Ace appeared at the front of the group looking disgruntled. The two were shoved into the group with the rest before the man from the house, presumably the captain, detached himself from Aidan and wandered off to the center of the clearing. His crew cheered loudly as he pivoted around in circles, arms outstretched as though waiting to catch something from the sky.

"Alright men!" A roar swelled up from the crowd. "Are plan is going off without a hitch and, in a few hours, the Whitebeard pirates will be put in their place once and for all!"

Another roar rose up from the pirates around the clearing. The captain sauntered over to the captive pirates looking smug and his eyes swept over them before landing on Yanagi. His mouth twisted into a wicked grin and he suddenly looked much more menacing then he had. He pulled her over roughly by the elbow and tilted his face down so his breathe fanned across her face as he spoke.

"My little friend Aidan over there tells me you're a marine."

"He's not your _friend_ , you asshole."

He chuckled. "Protective aren't you."

He walked back to the middle of the clearing, swaggering as his crew made a racket all around. He turned, all leisure and arrogant, and peered back over his shoulder at her.

"So here's the deal girly. You weren't part of the plan, but we've got a little time to kill. And my men here," another roar swelled through the clearing, "need a little _show_. So you and me, we're gonna have a little fun, yeah?"

As though on cue, someone stepped out of the crowd and pulled her away from the rest of the captives. There was a brief uproar from behind as she was dragged away, but it did little to help her as she was detached from Marco and dragged to the center of the clearing. Glancing back over her shoulders, she watched the assembly of Whitebeard pirates as they stared back at her worriedly. The men beside her batted a sudden retreat and Yanagi had barely a second's warning before the captain's open palm collided with her temple and sent her stumbling backwards.

"Come on, Marine, entertain me!"

Without batting an eye, the man lurched at her again. Yanagi jerked back in time to avoid the swing at her head, but stumbled as a twinge in her injured ankle sent her off balance. She felt more than saw the captain swing for her again and let the weakness in her legs drag her down to avoid the blow. She rolled out of the way of a kicked and swept her legs out to topple her attacker, only to be sidestepped and kicked in the jaw when her ribs seized up with the motion. Her body tumbled sideways, and she caught a glimpse of Aidan cheering happily from his place within the ring of enemy pirates. She straightened painfully, one hand on her ribs where the black bruising gave way to fractures in the bones themselves.

"Release him."

The captain, puzzled, glanced over his shoulder in the direction she had been looking. Aidan was still cheering, watching the man he thought was his father with something close to hero-worship. The man shot a wicked grin in Yanagi's direction, shrugging noncommittally before wandering over to the boy and kneeling to his level. He watched Yanagi from the corner of his eye as he whispered to the boy, grin still curling across his face wickedly. She watched the thrall descend in Aidan's eyes and her stomach turned violently.

"Stop it."

As she watched, Aidan's face went from elation and wonder to confusion, before settling on horror. His head swivelled around, taking in his surroundings with a sudden fear as his small frame began to tremble. Behind her eyelids, scenes flickered through Yanagi's memory. Aidan's frightened face overlapped with Lavi's as Zero bore down on him in a rage, the sounds around her transformed into a dull roar as suddenly she was back on the ship from the mist, watching bodies that seemed eerily familiar get dragged from the deck by frothing waves.

"Stop it!"

From deeper in the crowd, Ayana struggled to get to her son only to be pinned by a burly man twice her width. Something hot flashed through her limbs as the scene unravelled, the captain's cruel grin burning at the center of it all. And then the wailing started.

Yanagi lurched forward without thought, grabbing the man by his throat and launching him across the clearing. Haki crept through her limbs, lending her skin the appearance of steel. She watched the captain push himself back to his feet, the near constant sound of Aidan's screams drowning out anything else as the man straightened with a satisfied grin and red flooded Yanagi's vision.

"What? You asked me to."

The air in the clearing shifted and the pirates grew silent, suddenly aware of some intangible change as Yanagi stalked the captain with a predatory smoothness to her movements.

In three steps she crossed the clearing, arm drawn back for a punch. The captain evaded her deftly, catching her fist to redirect it away from his face. He winced as the impact shattered the bones in his hands and he staggered away clutching his wrist in a futile attempt to stop the pain radiating to his elbow. Unfazed Yanagi pressed forward, her knee slamming up into his stomach and driving him up into her elbows as they came down on the back of his neck. Blood splattered the ground at her feet, and the man stumbled away clutching at his abdomen.

She followed and made to grab him collar when he whipped around, smashing the butt of a pistol against her jaw. She reeled sideways but didn't register the pain as she used the momentum of the blow to kick him hard into the trunk of a tree. Something cracked loudly as the man made contact. Around them, a ripple of unease passed through the invading crew as the marine inched closer to their captain.

Her head throbbed as her Kenbunshoku haki spun her vision until suddenly she was watching herself stalk towards the man from his own eyes. She had a moment to wonder at the predatory fluidity of her movements before she was sucked in deeper, to the words he'd said to Aidan, to all the island's he'd terrorized and ruined, to his home island which he continued to ruin. Anger flashed through her body and she wasn't aware of anything for a moment until heat engulfed her, pinning her arms to her limbs as she was dragged backwards and away.

"Calm down! CALM DOWN! It's over already."

Air whistled into her lungs as though she'd been holding her breath, but her throat burned like she'd been screaming. She sagged against the body behind her, eyes flickering around the clearing. The villagers were huddling together at the far end of the clearing, Aidan watched from the confines of his mother's arms with a wide-eyed surprise permeated with fear. The invading pirate crew was dispersing into the trees with many Whitebeard pirates in pursuit, though a few remained with the villagers. Marco was crouched over what had been the captain of the crew, but looked now more like the remnants of a wild animal attack. The blond commander's face was carefully neutral, but Yanagi's head still throbbed with her out of control haki and she could sense the dull horror permeating the area.

Feeling suddenly like she was going to be sick, she wiggled against the hold pinning her arms to her sides. The arms tightened momentarily, but eased away slowly as whoever it was seemed to register her calm. She stubbled forward a few steps and braced her hands against a tree to steady herself as the world swam around her. Vaguely, she noted that Ace had been the one to pull her from her rampage. His freckled face was twisted with concern as he watched her and surreptitiously shared glances with Marco. When it was clear she was shaken but otherwise fine, he wandered back to the other commander with one last confused glance in her direction.

On the other side of the clearing, the villager's voices were rising until the flow of different conversations was a dull hum in the background. Yanagi tried hard to avoid eavesdropping, but her haki was still wildly out of her control and their shock and horror sent spikes of pain lancing across her skull. Acutely aware of the eyes watching her in fear, Yanagi struggled to push the flashes of memory down. She could see herself in their eyes; stalking the man like a wild cat, attacking without hesitation or thought.

Abruptly, she shoved away from her tree and stumbled off into the woods. The plants caught at her and slowed her progress as she rushed blindly through the underbrush. She swatted at branches, growing more and more frantic as it seemed the forest began to close in on her. She picked up speed until she was sprinting, crashing through the foliage until, seemingly out of nowhere, she was knee deep in a stream. Dizzy and exhausted, she dropped herself onto a rock at the water's edge and let her emotions take over.

* * *

.

.

.

So? Let me know what you think! I haven't written many fight scenes before this story so feedback is always hugely appreciated!


	11. Murky Waters

Hey Guys! Posting this short little chapter since it's been an age and a half since I last posted. I'm _really_ sorry about that, I got a full time job and got wrapped up in working and life. I'm back in school now though, so hopefully that will keep my posts somewhat more regular!

Enjoy!

* * *

 **Chapter 10 – Murky Waters  
** _Kenzan Island, Grand Line – 3 years ago_

 _Yanagi woke to the familiar rocking of waves beneath the ship. Evening light slanted across the room, periodically shifting across the wall as it slanted through the open porthole above her bed. The sounds of the late day harbour activity drifted in with the breeze. She could feel the constricting bandages concealed beneath her clothing and idly wondered what had happened. Beside her bed, Lavi sat propped in a chair, a bandage wrapped tightly around his head and concealing one of his eyes and throwing his floppy red hair into a gravity defying tangle. He watched her quietly rouse herself fully before pulling his seat a little closer and leaning in to talk in hushed voices._

 _"_ _How're you feeling?"_

 _"_ _All things considered, not the worst ever… What happened?"_

 _Lavi frowned, tilting his head down and to the side so that Yanagi caught a good look at the blood soaking into the heavy bandage over his eye. Carefully moving so he would see her coming, she touched the uninjured side of his face with gentle fingers, inspecting him with worried eyes._

 _"_ _Your eye…"_

 _He chuckled mirthlessly. "Nothing to be done. Now Zero's really going to hate the sight of me. What with eyepatches being a 'pirate thing'."_

 _"_ _Lavi…"_

 _He watched her, considering for a moment. "You really don't remember?"_

 _Yanagi shook her head gently. Something in her back protested the movement and she became abruptly aware of just how many bandages were wrapped around her. Lavi watched her with the kind of sad resignations she recognized from doctors delivering unwelcome news._

 _"_ _Zero went berserk. Went off on a rampage in the town and you went after him. 'Cept he nearly got you, so I thought I'd step in and well…"_

 _He stopped and made a vague motion at his face, lowering his head with a self-deprecating shake. Yanagi struggled into a fully seated position. Something about the story pulled at her memory and she fought to get a better grasp on the vague recollections swimming behind her eyes; could picture the moment Zero struck Lavi's eye and remember the way the world had seemed to bleed red before the memory engulfed itself. Frustrated, she sat back harshly against her pillows, and Lavi looked up to consider her. He glanced over his shoulder at the door, almost nervously, before sliding his chair even closer. The atmosphere in the room dropped as she watched something fearful flicker through his eyes. Somewhere in the ship, footsteps echoed down the hall, and a door slammed._

 _"_ _Listen, Yana, you-"_

 _The footsteps drew closer, and Lavi cut himself off abruptly as Captain Marlow stepped into the doorframe. Face impassive and arms crossed behind him, he cut an imposing silhouette. His eyes swept the room, and Yanagi caught the faint warning glance he shot at Lavi before he turned his attention to her and his face relaxed into his usual expression of laid-back joviality. He strode over confidently, stopping beside Lavi and clapping a hand down on his shoulder._

 _"_ _How're you feeling my dear? Gave us quite a scare, passing out like that."_

 _Yanagi offered him a semi-apologetic smile._

 _"_ _I'm feeling much better, Captain. Actually, I was just telling Lavi that I didn't remember all that much…"_

 _Something unreadable, but unmistakably dark flickered across his eyes, before it disappeared into his usual expression. He moved around Lavi to sit at the foot of her bed, dropping one hand onto her knee as he settled beside it. He opened his mouth to say something, but seemed to think better of it; instead turning his attention to Lavi._

 _"_ _Ensign, I believe the head nurse was looking for you."_

 _Dismissed, Lavi pushed himself stiffly to his feet and made his way out. He stopped in the doorway to shoot one last worried glance over his shoulder at Yanagi. She smiled back in what she hoped was a reassuring way, but was more likely a shady looking grimace. Then, he disappeared around the corner and she was left alone, the atmosphere in the room growing steadily thicker. The captain was watching her intently. His typical light-heartedness had disappeared, overtaken by a blank, serious expression Yanagi could barely even begin to hope to decipher._

 _"_ _That was a dangerous thing you did."_

 _"_ _Sir?"_

 _For a long moment he simply watched her, unreadable, before seeming to find something in her face. The seriousness in the air dissipated as quickly as it came, and his demeanour returned to its usual light-heartedness. A grin cracked across his serious façade, but did little to chase away Yanagi's apprehension._

 _"_ _Nothing. Be more careful dealing with Zero. It'd be a shame to lose a good marine."_

 _And on those words, he stood and marched from the room without a backwards glance. Unsettled, Yanagi allowed herself to slouch back into the bed. Unable to shake the feeling of wrongness, she lay awake staring up at the ceiling even after darkness stole through the ship. When finally she slept, it was a fitful sleep filled with nightmares of empty blood soaked ships, and screaming children._

 _. . . . ._

 _In the weeks that followed, Yanagi found it increasingly difficult to go about her duties without the scrutiny of the crew dogging her every movement. Unsurprisingly, it began with the nurses. Appearing periodically to check on her injuries, they were as predictable as clockwork. Then when she was finally allowed to resume her day to day duties, she began noticing other people checking in periodically. When she pointed it out to Lavi, her most common 'bodyguard' as she'd dubbed them, he simply shrugged it off and beat a hasty escape. They were subtler from then on, but no less persistent._

 _This continued for several weeks before Yanagi hit her limit and snapped at the first person in range at the time; Zero. She had been shifting a heavy crate of gunpowder in the storeroom below deck, struggling slightly under the weight, when he had walked by. Ducking in to offer a hand, Yanagi almost instant snapped at him._

 _"_ _It's fine Zero! For the love of whatever god you believe in, I don't need a babysitter!"_

 _He stared at her blankly for a moment, face completely blank and unimpressed._

 _"_ _I didn't ask if you needed a babysitter. I know you can handle yourself."_

 _Her ears colored and she ducked her chin into her collar as Zero stepped in closer and shifted the crate from her arms. She caught the inquiring look he shot her from the corner of his eye as he turned away. Sighing heavily, she pulled herself up to sit on a stack of crates._

 _"_ _Sorry… It's just everything's been weird since Kenzan everyone's been breathing down my neck and watching me and it's just… weird."_

 _Zero cocked an eyebrow. "You mean the way they always treat me?"_

 _Yanagi flinched, her voice dropped to a whisper as Zero deposited the crate on a new pile and leaned against it. She glanced up at him through her hair._

 _"_ _Yeah, but that's… different."_

 _"_ _Why? Because they're scared of me?" Another hard flinch. "Maybe they're scared of you too."_

 _Yanagi's head snapped up, thoughts whirling out of control as the words sank in. 'Scared'. 'Afraid'. She struggled against the thought. Why would they be afraid of her? The marines had raised her, taken her in when she had nothing – not even memories – to vouch for her._

 _She was yanked abruptly from her racing thoughts as a hand descended heavily on the top of her head. She yelped, arms flying up to cradle her skull as Zero retracted his fist. He offered her an unrepentant look, lowering his hand back down to smooth her hair._

 _"_ _What does it matter if they're afraid? I know you. The captain knows you. The rest can just deal with it. Got it?"_

 _She offered him a watery smile, more grateful for his constant presence in her life than she had ever been in the past. She nodded mutely, before tipping off the edge of her crate and tumbling gracelessly into a hug._

* * *

.

.

.

So, let me know what you think!


End file.
